Philosopher's Stone with a difference
by Anonymius
Summary: Same basic plot except a slight alteration concerning one of the characters. And alot of changes extending from that one. What has been changed? Read and find out.
1. Halloween

It was nighttime on Halloween. A hooded, shadowy figure was walking through the village of Godric's Hollow, with what looked like coat trappings billowing in his wake. The tall figure felt amused as he beheld the decorations he saw everywhere he looked: shop windows covered in paper spiders. A couple of children dressed as pumpkins ran past him, laughing all the way. All mortal trappings of a world they did not believed existed. Bless them, he thought, as if bemusing the drawing of a small child handed to him.

The figure eventually reached his destination; the fidelius charm had broken, although they did not realise it yet. From the garden wall he saw two of them in the living room: James Potter creating multi-coloured smoke for the amusement of his baby son, Harry, who with great determination tried to grasp the images that were formed in front of him. The figure's eyes remained fixed on Harry, like a hawk would fix its eyes on its prey. Lily, the wife and mother, walked in, laughing as she said something to James. She then scooped up the young Potter as the man threw his wand on the couch and yawned as he laid back. The figure pushed open the gate and rushed to the door, not even bothering to keep quiet; for the Potters would not have enough time to stop him. Hearing the gate creak, they turned to look outside and horror appeared on their faces. Horror and fright.

"Lily, it's him!" The figure heard James shout, "Take Harry and go! I'll hold him off!"

Hold him off? Without even a wand in his hand? The figure raised his own wand and a bolt of lightning blasted the door away. The splinters impacted James, who crumpled down. As the figure entered the room, James managed to get up, though with great effort, and attempted to reach for his wand. But the figure was too quick for him and another bolt of lightning struck James. But not to kill him, no. Certainly not as powerful as the one he used to blast the door apart. Only to stun him; for James Potter was such a rarity, a pureblooded wizard who rejected the fanaticism of his fellows. It would be a shame to make such a person extinct. And besides it wasn't like he was a real threat. Not like his son.

The figure had heard Lily scream her husband's name before running up the stairs. He followed her, leading him to one of the upstairs room. He heard her try to blockade the door with whatever was in the room, as if that could stop him. Raising his wand the figure emitted his most favourite spell again and the door and whatever was right behind it disintegrated. For a moment the two figures just looked at each other; the intruder examined her terrified, tearful face. Holding the child, Lily put him in the cot just behind her and threw her arms wide, as if she could shield and save the baby.

"Not Harry, not Harry!" she begged, "Please not Harry!"

"Silly girl," the figure spoke, "stand aside!"

"No! Have mercy, please have mercy!"

"I have no desire to harm you," the figure explained, "But if you continue to defy me-"

"Please! Please I'll do anything! Just don't harm my baby!"

The figure sighed as if he was dealing with a reluctant and stubborn child. He raised his wand and shot an electrical charge at her, but again not to kill. For she was a mortal-born; the most precious of the magically gifted, untainted by the corruption that was wizarding culture. She groaned as she keeled over, falling to the floor with a thud. How foolish, the intruder thought, how irrational for this woman to continually challenge the man who was fighting for her very rights, and those of her people. She and her husband should have joined him, not fight for the Slytherins, the Pure-blood fanatics and other wizards filled with prejudice, those who shunned them and did them harm! He never understood why people like them, like Dumbledore, like the Prewetts fought for those kinds of people. He now walked towards his real prey, which was clasping the bars, with curiosity in his face, to see who this visitor was. When he came close enough, eye to eye with his enemy, the young boy looked startled at what he saw beneath the hood, and began to cry. What a waste, the intruder thought, to kill the offspring of a mortal-born and a so-called blood traitor, the most precious and pure of people. Yet this child was prophesised to destroy him, and even though he was never good at Divination, he could never shake off what his son had told him. The child now started crying 'mama' and 'dada' interchangeably as his would-be murderer was deciding how to kill him. A full lightning bolt sounded fitting, a worthy end to the one who had the power to vanquish the dark lord. He raised his wand once more and emitted a bolt of lightning.

He was not expecting to find his entire vision filled with the white electrical energy, nor to find himself screaming as every part of him burned. It was the most terrible experience he had ever felt; he felt his flesh sear away, his bones disintegrate, his organs boil and burst before evaporating. Then when there should have been nothing left to destroy, the man felt his mind split, like a splitting headache except you literally felt your head splitting down all the way. When the tearing sensation had ceased, when the pain should have stopped entirely, he still felt pain, as if the fire he was thrown in never ceased to burn. He thought he saw something swoop down on the child, like an eagle swooping down on its prey, but he was too preoccupied with his own suffering to be fully aware of what was happening around him. He must flee: he must fly away to a safe location, fly away from the screaming child and the collapsing building. Fly away…

James Potter was awoken by the screams of his son. At first he feared the worst, but then realised that if Harry was still making noise then he was not dead. Grasping his wand, James ran up to Harry's room. If he wasn't dead yet…James' heart leapt in his rib cage, what was that man doing to him? For a moment James thought that he had awoken to the moment of his son being killed, but he was still making noise, still screaming. Was Eago torturing his son before killing him? His blood boiled. He will murder him, James thought, he would torture Eago with all the power of the cruciatus curse. He would make him writhe, make him scream, all of his grief and anger would fuel that dark curse, and he did not care if it was illegal, he did not care if he was found out he would go to Azkaban for the rest of his life, he did not care if it was dark magic. He came to the top of the stairs and was horrified to find the door gone. He rushed in, thinking of seeing the dark wizard frying his young son with his terrible magic, his wife lying dead at his feet. Yet could did not see Eago in the room. All he saw was his child continuingly screaming his lungs out, as if he had been dropped in acid, and (Oh the horror) his wife on the floor, seemingly fried to become a burnt corpse.

"NO!" He yelled, running to his fallen wife, hoping vainly that by some miracle she had survived. He was surprised to hear her groan. As he held her up, James realised that only the back of her had been burnt by whatever Eago had unleashed. Although that may still be horrifying to some who may find what state their wife was in, for James it was a lot better than what he thought he saw.

"Oh Lily!" he cried, hugging her, embracing her, not caring that tears were pouring down his face, "I thought you were-" What he thought was too horrible to speak out loud.

"James," He heard Lily whisper. Then she clutched his shoulder, her nails digging into his body, but he did not care. He could tell that she too had feared for his life.

After a second had past the couple became aware of their son's screams.

"Harry!" They both cried simultaneously, standing up and reaching the cot. They could see that his face was covered in blood trickling down from a jagged cut on his forehead.

"My God!" James exclaimed, "What did he do to him?"

Although perhaps a cut on the forehead was better than the loss of his son's life, any infliction by a murderous dark wizard was still infuriating.

"Come here Harry."

Lily picked up her son and cradled him, hoping that her comfort would ease the pain. Although he stopped screaming, Harry continued to cry uncontrollably. James put his arm around his wife and hugged both, hoping to comfort both. He did not know how he survived. He did not understand how his wife and son escaped with their lives, but for now it did not matter. All that mattered was that they were all alive and together. As they were embraced with each other, James' thoughts wandered to the question that anger, grief and relief had forced into the back of his mind: where was Eago? Over his wife's shoulder James noticed a burnt circle a few inches away from the cot: all that remained was Eago's short yet powerful wand.

Had the charm somehow backfired? Was Cain Eago, the most terrible dark wizard of all time, gone forever? After all the people he killed, had a mere baby stopped him? Was it all finally over? Although his mind wanted to believe so, there was still a nagging thought in the dark corner of his mind that was not ready to stand down to such a belief.


	2. The mystery of the scar

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Harry Potter' nor any characters or concepts etc. that are in the series. That goes the same for the previous chapter, it had been a while since I published anything. Enjoy!**

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"Harry! Dan! Gerry!"

Harry Potter woke to the calling of his mother. However he was still very sleepy, and the bed was so soft and warm that getting out of it seemed to be an impossible task. Therefore instead of getting out, Harry just curled up in his bed even more, thinking that a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. About five minutes had past before his mother called upstairs again, this time her voice becoming harsher. Harry decided that it was best to get out of bed before his mum started to get really angry. Rolling over to reach his glasses, which were beside his bed on the desktop, Harry put them on and forced himself out of the bed. He still felt tired, but now with both feet on the floor he felt able to go downstairs. At the same time he left his bedroom, his brother Dan and sister Gerry had also left their rooms. Dan, who was several years younger than Harry, resembled his elder brother greatly, with the exceptions that his face was not as thin, he had hazel eyes as opposed to Harry's bright green, and his hair was successfully flat, which was a genetic miracle among Potter men, whose natural state, without the use of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, stuck up in every direction. Gerry, on the other hand, looked more like their mum. In fact she greatly resembled Lily in the same way that Harry resembled James, with the exception that her nose was longer than her mother's and she had their father's hazel eyes.

When they eventually walked down the long stairway and into the dining hall, the siblings saw their parents already sitting at the far end of the long table eating breakfast. The family House-elf, Addie, stood on the chair next to lily, his worried eyes on his masters' food, most likely concerned whether the meals he had prepared were adequate. When their Dad looked up from his eggs and bacon and saw his children enter, he grinned.

"Well you lot certainly took your time getting up this morning," he commented, though not in any way stern. He then looked at Harry, "I'm surprised you hadn't come running down stairs, being what day it is today."

Addie had disapparated with a crack before reappearing right in front of the siblings. It was always very unsettling when he did that.

"What would masters Harry, Dan and Gerry like for breakfast?" He asked them.

"Just some toast for me, Addie," Harry answered.

"I would like some bacon!" Dan said.

"I would like some cereal, Addie," Gerry answered.

The house-elf bowed, which Harry always found quite amusing since he considered it unnecessary from him. No one else in the family bowed to each other (Although Harry would love it if Dan bowed to him every hour).

"At once masters," he replied after coming back up. He disapparated again.

Harry, Dan and Gerry took their seats.

"So Harry," his mother asked him, smiling, "looking forward to the big day today?"

Harry nodded. Dan frowned.

"Why does Harry get to buy his wizard stuff?" He demanded, as little children do.

"Because Harry is going to Hogwarts this year," his mother explained simply, "You're just not old enough yet, Dan."

"Don't worry son," James said, "In four years time you'll get to go to Hogwarts."

Dan looked horror-struck.

"But that's AGES away!" he exclaimed, putting much emphasis on the word 'ages' as little children sometimes do.

"I want to go now!" Gerry suddenly announced. Her father laughed.

"You're even younger than Dan, Gerry!" he exclaimed, "You haven't even been able to do any magic yet!"

Gerry frowned at this remark.

"I can do magic any time if I wanted to!"

"Alright then. Tell you what. We'll allow you to go to Hogwarts," James brought up the spoon he was using, "If you can turn this spoon into a canary."

"James!" Lily cried, "Don't tease your daughter!"

Gerry however took great offence at the idea that her mother did not believe she could perform magic.

"I can do it!" she challenged her father. He grinned.

"Alright then. Go ahead. Turn this nice, shiny spoon into a big, fat, bright yellow canary."

He waved the spoon in front of her to and fro, like a bull-fighter would tease a bull by waving the red cloak in front of it.

"I can do magic already!" Dan piped, sensing the unfairness of this deal, "Why can't I go?"

Harry's dad however ignored him. Gerry stared at the spoon. Screwing up her face with all the effort she could muster, she tried with all her will to transform the spoon into a canary. Harry knew that she was not going to succeed. He hadn't been able to perform magic until he was seven. He would have tried to tell his sister that it was a pointless challenge, if he didn't know how stubborn she was. A whining noise came from Gerry as she started to get irritated that the spoon would not even grow a feather. The whining became even louder and high-pitched like a kettle boiling, before she screamed with frustration. This would have been the moment when a child would perform spontaneous magic, however as Harry's dad pointed out, Gerry was still too young to perform the simplest spell. When she saw the spoon had still refused to change shape, she banged the table hard with her hands. Her father laughed.

"Oh, bad luck Gerry!" he laughed, "It looks like you don't get to go to Hogwarts for at least another six years! Perhaps you'll do better next year!"

Harry's mum tutted at her husband's immaturity. At that instant, Addie had reappeared with plates of toast and bacon and a bowl of cereal. As usual, whenever Harry just asked for 'some' of something, Addie would respond by giving him tons of that something, in this case a pile of toast that almost reached the ceiling. Harry had to carefully take a piece out of the tower without the rest of it toppling over, which itself was a difficult task. Harry was not completely sure where Addie got the food he prepared for the family, though he didn't really care as long as he was full. As they all ate breakfast, Harry's mum suddenly groaned, clutching her back. Her husband's usual mischievous face vanished, replaced with one that was sober, one that Harry never liked, because he wasn't used to his father getting worried.

"Shall I get the potion, Lily?" He instantly asked.

"No, it's alright. Just a back spasm."

Mum always has back spasms, Harry thought. He knew that her entire back was horribly scarred. Usually however his mum's sweatshirt covered the injury, but you could still see that she was missing hair on the back of her head and what was there instead was more brown, ugly scarring. Harry had of course asked his mother what happened to her. They all did. She usually replied that it was a battle wound she got after a fight with Cain Eago, the most terrible dark wizard of all time. Harry of course knew everything about Eago, or at least everything his parents had told him, how he had gathered followers and tried to take over the wizarding world, how his parents were part of a group of wizards and witches who sought to stop him. Harry was very proud of his parents for being part of the Great War, and his mother's injuries never bothered him, no more than the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Harry had of course asked his parents how he got that scar, when he was very little. His parents however refused to tell him how, saying that it will give him nightmares.

"I won't be scared," Harry had told them defiantly.

"I'm sure you think so," his mother replied, "But trust me Harry the knowledge is not meant for little boys."

Harry however, being young and stubborn as he was, refused to let it go, and continued to badger his parents as to what happened. You'd hope that the parents would remain resilient towards their children's pestering and that the child would eventually get bored. Sadly little children hardly tire out so quickly, and parents are often stressed out by their children, so when much of the afternoon passed with Harry's continual cries of "Please tell me! Please!" His mother eventually lost her temper.

"No Harry, I am not going to tell you! Will you please stop badgering us?" She shouted at him.

As usual in these sort of circumstances, when the child becomes upset after being shouted at, he or she begins to cry. Lily's expression softened.

"Oh Harry, come here," she said apologetically, hugging her son in a means of making amends for shouting at him. After Harry had stopped crying, however, Lily still refused to go into details, but he did not push the topic anymore.

The origin of the mark on his forehead was not the only mystery that had baffled Harry. Whenever he and his family went out, people would often become silent, pointing at him and wanting to talk to him. It seemed that everyone knew him somehow, yet he didn't know any of them. When he asked his parents about why people were always staring at him, they refused to tell him until he was older. Just like the scar. Harry suspected that the two were linked, though how he did not know. As children do when parents forbid them access to certain things because they're 'scary,' children will often try to imagine what it could be that parents believe will frighten them, and draw on what they think themselves is most scary-yet they're never close to the truth because what is forbidden to them does not exist in the world of children. Had some monster tried to attack, Harry had wondered. Some big, nightmarish creature come into his room and attempted to eat him? Was his scar a leftover from that encounter, in the same way that his mother's scars were a leftover from her battle with Eago? Was it under his bed? In the wardrobe? Perhaps it was a vampire, entering his room through the open window? That thought made Harry always close his window before he went to bed, not wanting any vampire to come through that way. He also checked under his bed every night, as well as his wardrobe. Just to be safe he also had the wardrobe locked before he went to sleep. Later Harry's parents had assured him that there were no vampires in England, and that there were no such things as monsters under the bed or in the wardrobe. There were of course, Harry's Dad mentioned, boggarts that lived in the darkest spaces and who took the form of what you feared the most. That as far as Harry was concerned didn't really improve his sense of security, not wanting to find what he was afraid of the most under his bed or in the wardrobe, and made him dare not look under or into respectively around bedtime.

Whenever Harry tried to strain his memory as far back as he could, to see what he could remember of the incident, all he could remember was seeing a lot of white light. What was it that his mother believed Harry would find so scary? He remembered how he was very little and his mother refused point-blank to read him 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart,' despite protest from his father.

"Every child's told 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart,' Lily," He tried to explain to his wife.

"I'm surprised that's even considered a children's story! It's more like a Fifteen rated short story to me!"

Even though his mum had outright forbid something that his father thought was not so bad, and officially he'd agree with his wife, as usual James would appease his son in secret, that night reading him 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart' without Lily knowing. Harry had learnt that it was about an evil warlock who sought to never love by removing his heart, the latter becoming shrivelled and hairy. When he eventually married, his bride was so disgusted that she begged him to put it back in, which drove him mad and made him kill his bride and rip out her heart, then ripped out his own again and died. Harry definitely did not like this story, though his father assured him that it was an important tale that told you never to meddle with the dark arts. Harry was not too sure at the time what the dark arts were (though they definitely sounded bad), nor how the story told to be aware of him, but he took his father's word. Later that night, Harry had woken up screaming. When his parents had burst in he had started to cry. While his mother comforted him and asked him what was wrong, Harry had told her through sobs that he saw a mad, animal-like wizard who had killed a woman and ripped out her heart with his teeth, his hands covered in blood. Harry was too submerged in his mother's embrace to notice her give James a deadly stare.

Harry's mum definitely thought that 'the warlock's hairy heart' was scary. Was it something like what was in that story that attacked him? Harry had nightmares of blood-thirsty boggarts that crept into his bedroom, whether from under the bed, from the wardrobe or flew in from the window, that wanted to eat his heart and shot beams of white light at him. From hind sight telling Harry what had really happened would have been perhaps less frightening to Harry than what his imagination came up with.

What was it? Had he survived something so deadly that it usually kills all of its victims? Is that why he was famous? Was he some kind of boy-who-survived? But what could possibly be so well known that people feared it so? Well, there was Eago, but Harry was sure that there was nothing that Eago could have done to him that his mother didn't want him to know.

Then finally, just after his ninth birthday, Harry's parents sat him down and begun to tell him how he got his scar and why he was so famous, as long as he didn't tell his brother and sister who were still too young to know all the details. Harry swore he wouldn't tell, although his dad was not too convinced of his honesty.

"Perhaps we'll make an unbreakable vow just to be sure," he grinned, "Lily can be the oath-binder."

"James!"

"I just want to make sure he doesn't give his brother and sister nightmares!"

"Oh, like you actually care what your children are dreaming about," Harry's mum snarled, referring to the night he had read 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart' to Harry. His dad looked as if he had been punched.

"I was only joking," he muttered, "Right then," he now turned to Harry, "You know all about the dark wizard Cain Eago, of course. And how your mother and I were part of a very special order that was formed to defeat him. Well, one night, on Halloween, eight years ago, Eago entered our house and attempted to dispose of us. This wasn't too unusual, we were after all enemies and it made sense to get rid of us. I think however that he also wanted to make a clean job of it, that is, he tried to kill you as well, even though you were just a baby. We managed to survive, of course, but the strange thing is that when Eago had tried to kill you, he should have succeeded. But you didn't. Not only did you survive, Harry, but the charm, somehow, backfired, and hit him instead, killing him. Where he pointed his wand at you," his dad pointed at his scar, "is where the scar is now. It's a mark left from where he tried to kill you."

"So it's like a battle scar? Like what Mum's got?"

His father considered this.

"I suppose it is! And that is why you're so famous, Harry. You're not only the boy-who-lived, but you're the reason he's gone!"

"And you don't know why he couldn't kill me? Or why the charm backfired?"

His parents shrugged.

"No," his mother answered, "It's a big mystery."

Harry was silent for a moment.

"Is that it?"

Harry's parents looked taken aback.

"I'm sorry?" Harry's mum asked.

"That's the big secret that I wasn't old enough to know?"

"Well-yes," His mother answered uncertainly, "We thought you were too young to know that somebody tried to kill you."

Harry was silent again.

"I think I'll go play quidditch with Dan and Gerry," he eventually said.

Harry noticed his parents looked concerned.

"I'm fine," He said, as he sat off the couch and ran to fetch his broomstick from the shed.

"You are all right, aren't you?" Harry's mum called.

"Yeah Mum!" Harry called back.

Oh the whole, Harry felt rather let down. All his life he fantasized what it could have possibly been that tried to kill him and it turned out it was a mere human he was familiar with. It was true that it was an unsettling thought that someone tried to kill him, but Eago was definitely no heart eating boggart that entered your room without your parents' knowing-As far as he knew. He no more found Eago scary than any big evil wizard he saw on cartoons. In fact, Harry was at an age when boys found evil wizards fascinating rather than terrifying, even if they had no intention of being 'bad.' What really concerned Harry was how he survived? He wasn't aware of any unusual power he had that could have saved him. As he pondered on this new mystery, something else baffled him. His parents made a big deal about him surviving Eago…Yet they too had survived, so why didn't people point at them or whispered as well?

After breakfast, Harry went back upstairs to brush his teeth (among other things) before getting dressed and coming back down again by the fireplace.

"Have you got the list, Harry?" his mum asked him.

"Yep," he answered, patting the right pocket of his jeans, where he had stored it after getting dressed and taking it out from the draw in his desk. His mother picked up the flowerpot by the side that contained the floopowder and handed it to his dad.

"You first, James."

Harry's dad put his hand in the flowerpot, took out a handful of the powder that enabled wizards to travel by fire and through it into the fireplace. A burst of green fire appeared before vanishing. He walked into the fireplace, turned around to look at his family and shouted "Leaky Cauldron." He disappeared in a turret of green fire. Harry's mum now handed the pot to her eldest son.

"Your turn now Harry, since it's your day."

Harry put his hand in the pot, grabbed a handful of the powder, took it out and faced the fireplace. He always enjoyed using floopowder. After throwing it in, Harry walked into the fireplace, turned around to get a last look at his family before shouting "Leaky Cauldron." Green fire engulfed him as he felt the usual effect of being flushed down a pipe too thin for him. The next thing he knew was reappearing in a dingy pub with about fifty faces looking in the direction of the fireplace. Although he had only just arrived, Harry could tell that the place had suddenly become silent.

"Bless my soul," said the barkeeper Tom "It's Harry Potter!"

"Come on Harry, out you get," His father, told him, as if he did not hear what Tom had said.

He might not have heard him, but the rest of the inn did. At once they scrambled out of their seats and moved towards Harry. Harry felt overwhelmed, and for that matter slightly scared. People were still shaking his hand vehemently when his brother, sister, and mother came through the fireplace.

"What's going on?" Dan piped.

"It's not good Dan!" Harry heard his dad whispered, "It seems we've fallen among a group of Harry Potter fans! Right," he said, now speaking at normal volume above the chattering crowd, putting his hands on Harry's shoulders, "I'm very sorry but Harry Potter has a very tight schedule today," He steered Harry left and started pushing him away from the crowd, "If you want to meet him in the future you'll have to send an owl to me, his agent, and we'll organise a meeting time."

Lily, Dan and Gerry had followed. The crowd seemed rather disappointed that the boy-who-lived was taken away from them. When they came outside of the Leaky Cauldron, James said to his son "I'm sorry about that Harry. We couldn't move until the rest of the family met up with us. Mind you," He suddenly grinned, "I sometimes wish I had all the attention you get."

Harry's mum suddenly groaned.

"Being Quidditch Captain, Head boy and the most popular boy at school wasn't enough for you, I take it?" She accused him.

James looked at her with mock hurt. Harry couldn't help but laugh along with his siblings. Harry's Dad took out his wand from his trouser pocket, turned towards the wall that would lead to Diagon Alley, and tapped the brick that would open up the gateway three times. The wall instantly melted away.

"Right then team," Harry's dad said, "Let's set off. You lead the way, Harry."

Filling with excitement, Harry stepped over the threshold and into the wonder that was Diagon Alley.


	3. Diagon Alley

**Right, apologies to anyone who's been following this story for the lateness. I didn't give up on it (well, not really). I just had other things to do in the mean time and I never got around to finishing this chapter. Well I hope that those who have been waiting for the next chapter can forgive me. I'm hoping to do the next chapter soon. **

**Oh yes and I do not own 'Harry Potter' or anything related. Just thought I'd mention it.**

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"We'll need to go to Gringotts, first," his mother mentioned.

Harry stopped. He had no idea where Gringotts was. His parents now taking the lead, the family were led to the largest building in the street. Harry had never been in Gringotts before. He supposed that it was a boring, grown-up place. Despite this fact, however, Harry could not help but be amazed at the large, splendid marble building. Goblins flanked the entrance. The inside of the bank looked even more brilliant. Harry saw what looked like a poem beside him, one that made him feel very uncomfortable. Soon they were escorted by another goblin to their vault, speeding on a cart through the great tunnels. The air whipping though his hair, Harry was reminded of flying on a broomstick. Soon they came to a stop right in front of the Potters' vault. Harry had never seen the innards of their vault before, but what he saw amazed him. Columns of galleons, sickles and knuts filled the entire room. Harry had known that his family was well off, but he never imagined that they were extremely rich.

"You never told me we had this amount of money!" Harry complained. He could see that the money mesmerised his brother and sister as well, who just stood there in awe. Harry's parents said nothing, sweeping some of the money into a pouch. Harry could not understand how his parents did not realise how wealthy they were. When they had left Gringotts, Harry was convinced that the bank was anything but boring.

"So where to, Harry?" His father asked him, "Where should we go, first?"

"Well," Harry muttered, consulting the list of supplies that was in his pocket, "The first thing we've got to buy is my school uniform."

"Madam Malkin's it is, then."

The parents led their children to the best uniform shop on Diagon Alley. When they entered, the family found that another family was already being served. It included a blond haired man of average size whose wife was just as average looking. Their three children looked completely identical to each other; they all looked Harry's age, yet they were all equally short for that age and bore the exact short blond hair and round faces. One of the three children was still being attended to by a shop assistant, the other two standing by their parents. When the father looked around to see who had entered, he froze. Harry's dad also froze. Time seemed to have frozen as well. The air in the room felt suddenly hostile. Harry recognised the family, of course. When you live in a very small and therefore tight community, you tend to know everyone in your community, even if by glance. He had often seen them at quidditch matches. But whenever they came in sight, Harry's dad had always steered them away, in the opposite direction at times. Eventually the blond haired man curtly nodded his head towards Harry's dad.

"James," he said.

"Nero," James replied, nodding his head politely in return.

"How's the family?" The man named Nero asked.

"Oh fine, fine."

Nero now glanced at Harry.

"I guess your son is going to Hogwarts this year?" He asked. Harry thought he saw a glimpse in Nero's face that Harry found quite unsettling. He swore it was a look of utmost loathing.

"The famous Harry Potter, vanquisher of the dark wizard Cain Eago." Nero smiled, though it was a rather sly smile, "My sons are off to Hogwarts this year too, you know." He gestured with his hands towards them, "Adam is just being finished attended to now."

As Harry looked at the children, he noticed that there was a slight difference. The boy to the far right had green eyes, whereas his brother next to him had deep blue ones. Noticing Harry looking at him, the blue-eyed triplet smiled at him. Harry smiled uncertainly back at him.

"Who knows?" Nero continued, "Perhaps they'll become the best of friends?"

Harry could not help but notice a sense of irony in how the blond-haired man had said that. The middle-aged woman standing between the families, whom Harry could only suppose was Madam Malkin herself, walked towards the Potters.

"Er, would you liked to be served now?" she asked Harry's mum.

"Oh yes!" was her reply.

"Right. Right this way, dear," she instructed Harry, beckoning him towards the stool opposite the remaining triplet. As he stood on top of it, with the shop keeper measuring him, Harry noticed that this boy too had different coloured eyes than his brothers. These were black, and Harry could not help but feel he saw a gleam of malice in them. He smiled at Harry. It was a smile rather a lot like his father's.

"Hello there Harry," He greeted, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Harry mumbled a greeting in return.

"I don't suppose you know why our fathers don't get along, do you?" He whispered to Adam. The boy shrugged.

"No idea," he replied, though Harry couldn't help but feel he wasn't being completely truthful.

"Like Quidditch?" Adam asked Harry.

"yeah, of course!" Harry replied. He found it inconceivable for any wizard not to like Quidditch, "Love it."

"Me too. I hope to get on the quidditch team at Hogwarts. Maybe play seeker."

"I'd rather play chaser."

"Really? It's the seeker that gets most of the attention though. I mean, when you think about it, Quidditch is really a contest between the seekers and the other players are just there to keep the audience entertained."

"That's not true! Sometimes a team can win without their seeker catching the snitch first!"

"Pfft. In very rare circumstances.

What house are you hoping to get sorted in?"

Harry thought about this.

"I think I'd like to get place in Gryffindor."

At the mentioning of this, Adam's face looked as if something foul was dangled under his nose.

"Ohh," he said, "You want to be a hero."

The way he drawled out the last word, you'd think it was the equivalent of something you may find on your shoe.

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Harry demanded.

"Oh nothing, nothing," Although the way he said it suggested that there was everything wrong with being a hero, "It's just that heroes are very borrring. Doing good and never anything for themselves. I say if you want to join the house of exciting, interesting people, join Slytherin."

Harry was horrified at the mentioning of Slytherin.

"You want to join Slytherin?" Harry asked, "Well it's not like you have a choice in the matter, is it?"

Adam was looking at Harry as if he had said something really stupid.

"I suppose not," He eventually answered, "But then again I feel it is the house I'm most suited for."

"What, the house of dark wizards you mean?"

"The house of ambition and cunning," Adam corrected him, "Of course, I've never been that into that whole 'blood purity' rubbish, but on the other hand muggles and squibs are our natural inferiors, aren't they?"

Harry refused to answer that question.

"Course," Adam continued, "I wouldn't mind being sorted in Raveclaw either, though. I'm alright with Gryffindor as a third choice. I mean I do think courage is good. Then again not all Gryffindors have turned out as heroes, have they? I mean, Cain Eago was a Gryffindor and he was the most infamous dark wizard ever!"

Cain Eago was a Gryffindor? Harry didn't believe it. He refused to believe it. He had always thought that Eago came from Slytherin. Harry's father was a Gryffindor. So was his mother. In fact all of his wizarding ancestors have been Gryffindors. Harry was very proud to belong to a Gryffindor family, heroic Gryffindor, who defended muggleborns against the pureblood loving Dark lord Slytherin. The idea that Eago was part of the house that he cherished, that it was a Gryffindor who was feared above all other dark wizards…?

"You alright, Harry?" Adam asked, "You look as if someone has died. Don't tell me you didn't know Eago was a Gryffindor!"

"Right, you're done," Madam Malkin had told him. Harry at once got off the stool, and tried to get as far away from the Slytherin loving boy as he could, away from the boy who had tainted his idol house.

"See you at Hogwarts, Harry!" Adam called to him as he left the shop with his new uniform and his family.

"Phew! I'm glad we got out of there!" James breathed, as if he had to hold his breath for a long time, "If we had stayed any longer, I think I might have passed out! Right, I think it's time for some ice-cream."

"Yay!" Dan and Gerry cried. Harry, however, was too submerged in what that blond-haired, black-eyed boy had told him, to be too excited about ice cream.

"You all right, Harry?" His Dad had asked him after buying him a "You've hardly touched your strawberry ice cream. Don't tell me you've gone off it!"

"No," Harry answered, "It's just…you know that boy who was being served along with me? He said that Eago was a Gryffindor. It's not true, is it?" He asked desperately his father, hoping that it wasn't, that his father would tell that obviously he was lying. His siblings also looked shocked, that the idea of Eago being a Gryffindor was impossible. However, instead his father looked rather guilty, as if he had held some information back.

"Well," He hesitated, "I'm afraid he was, Harry."

"But-You always said that there hasn't been a wizard or witch that went bad that didn't come from Slytherin!" He accused.

"I might have exaggerated a little," James answered hesitantly, his eyes shifting guiltily from side to side, "I mean it is true that Slytherin has turned out more dark wizards than any of the other three houses...Look, Harry he was just one dark wizard. Most Gryffindors have turned out all right. Many of the greatest aurors who ever existed originated from Gryffindor. That's the honest truth, Harry. Nobody is perfect, not even Gryffindors!"

This made Harry feel a little better.

"I mean, if he didn't hate Slytherins so much, I bet he would have been sorted into Slytherin the moment the Sorting hat touched his head!"

"Eago hated Slytherins?" This revelation baffled Harry even more than the fact that Eago was a Gryffindor, "But why? I thought he'd get along well with a house that's so into the dark arts?"

"Not all Slytherins are bad, Harry," His mother told him, "The reason why so many turn to the dark arts is because Slytherins are distinguished by their ambition and cunning, and many ambitious people will do anything to achieve their own personal goals, even if that means using the dark arts. There are good Slytherins as well. Even if they're not perfect," She added.

James laughed, as if the idea of a noble Slytherin was ludicrous.

"Oh really?" he jeered, "Name one Slytherin that turned out all right?"

Lily frowned.

"Oh I don't know…How about Horace Slughorn? You know, your godfather?" she put great emphasis on the last word. Harry's Dad's smile vanished.

"Yeah, okay. Slughorn is alright, I guess," he shrugged. He then laughed again.

"I find it very ironic that you're standing up for the house that considers people like you to be scum, Lily."

"What do you mean, people like Mum?" Dan asked.

"People who are wizards but born to muggles, Dan," their father answered, "I mean, even Slughorn was amazed that you had no wizarding heritage."

"That didn't stop me from joining the slug club though, did it?" lily asked.

Harry, Dan and Gerry rolled with laughter at the sound of a 'slug club.'

"But why does Eago hate Slytherins?" Harry asked again.

"Because for that other particular aspect of Slytherin," James answered, "Eago hated prejudiced people, and for him, Slytherins were the worst kind of prejudiced people."

"What does 'prejudissed' mean?" Gerry asked.

"It means not liking someone because they're different," Lily answered, "Like not liking someone because they come from a muggle family instead of a wizarding one, like me."

"That's horrible," Harry said.

"Of course it is," James answered.

"So," Dan began to ask uncertainly, "If Eargo didn't like people who didn't like people who were different, doesn't that make him a good guy?"

There was silence. From the look on the parents, Harry thought, it was as if his little brother had asked them if Grindelwald was good.

"No," their father eventually answered, "Because Eago was a murderer. His victims included Slytherins, but any good person knows that just because someone is evil it doesn't give you a right to murder them. Because that would make you the same as them, or worse."

His tone made it clear that that was the end of the topic. As Harry continued to eat his ice cream, much happier than he did at the start of it, he brought up something else that the black-eyed boy had told him.

"He wants to be sorted in Slytherin," Harry inputted, "You know, that boy Adam in the shop."

His father's head snapped in Harry's direction. He stared at him, his eyebrows raised and his jaw dropped. His expression was that of disbelief.

"You're joking!"

Harry shook his head, having no idea why he should be joking. His Dad held that expression of utmost disbelief for a moment before roaring with laughter. Harry could not remember seeing his father laugh so hard.

"If his grandfather was around," he managed to say through the laughs and the tears, "He'd have a heart attack and die right there on the spot! And if he had a grave, you could hear him rolling in it as far as Australia!"

He started to bang his fists on the table.

"James!" Harry's mum snapped as quietly as she could, eyeing the passers-by who were looking at James as though he was mad, "You're drawing attention from onlookers!"

"Oh! Oh I'm sorry Lily," Harry's dad apologised after getting a grip on himself and wiping his eyes, " But you've got to admit, it's rather hilarious. And ironic."

"Did you know his grandfather then?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes," James answered, his mouth forming a sardonic smile, "Let's just say myself and your mother knew him very well. Of course, I hope you don't get sorted into Slytherin, Harry. That goes for the rest of you. If any of you are sorted into Slytherin," he waggled his finger at them, "be warned that you will be instantly disowned."

"James!"

"Only joking, Lily!" James protested, though Harry could not help but feel that his father was being slightly more serious than he usually was.

After finishing their ice cream, the Potters went to Flourish and Botts to buy Harry's spell books. Then they visited the apothecary to buy the ingredients he needed for potions. After buying an owl from 'Eeylops Owl Emporium,' the next item Harry found on his list was '1 wand.'

"That'll be Ollivander next," his father told him.

They came to a small shop with 'Ollivanders, making wands since 342 BC.' As they entered, they found themselves in a small room. Apparently no one was around.

"I wonder where Ollivander is?" Harry's mum asked.

"Oh he'll turn up when you least suspect it," Harry's Dad mentioned sardonically, "I remember when me and my parents first came in here for my wand it seemed that no one was home and then-"

"Good Afternoon."

The family jumped. A very ancient looking man had appeared as if out of nowhere.

"It happened like that before!" Harry's Dad whispered.

But Ollivander's eyes were for Harry only.

"I was wondering when I would be seeing you, Harry Potter," He said. He walked closer to Harry. His finger touched Harry's lightning shaped scar.

"I'm afraid I sold the wand that did that. Made of Oak, with a phoenix feather as its core, 5 inches long. An unusually short wand that was equally unusually powerful. Had I known what that wand would set out to do," He sighed, shaking his head. He had come so close to Harry that their eyes almost touched.

"Er, I think you're freaking him out a little, Ollivander," Harry's Dad inputted.

At once Ollivander came up to the surface and for the first time noticing Harry's Dad.

"James, my boy!" The wandmaker cried, holding his arms out as if welcoming an old friend, "It's good to see you, good to see you! Mahogany, unicorn hair, 11 inches long, very pliable wasn't it?"

"Yes sir," James answered at once.

"Very pliable? What a disturbing thought!" Lily muttered, although Harry did not at all understand.

"Yes, quite a powerful wand, and suitable for Transfiguration," Ollivander continued.

"Oh, is that why I did so well in Transfiguration?"

"That explains a lot. I wondered how you got Os in both your OWLs and NEWTs when you clearly hadn't studied."

Ollivander now turned to look at Harry's mother.

"And Lily Evans!" he cried, "How are you, my dear?"

"Very well, Ollivander," Lily answered, embracing him.

"How's your back?"

"It's fine."

"I'm sorry to say that the same wand that scarred your son scarred you even more." He sighed again. "Oh well. It's no good dwelling on the past. I remembered you favoured a willow wand, also unicorn hair, 10 ¾ inches, rather swishy. Slightly less powerful than your husband's but excellent for charm work.

Harry's mum frowned.

"My wand is just as powerful as James'," She protested.

Ollivander now turned to look at Dan and Gerry.

"And these are more of you children," he smiled, "I hope to see you two one day."

Dan and Gerry seemed more frightened of Mr Ollivander than Harry was, trying to hide behind their mother and clinging tn her trouser legs. Ollivander clapped his hands. After trying out many wands in Harry's hand, he eventually felt happy with a wand made from holly, phoenix tail feather as its core, 11 inches long, the same length as his dad's. As they bought Harry's remaining equipment and walked back to the leaky cauldron, Harry thought about what Ollivander had told him about the wand, and what it meant; how the tail feather that made up its core came from the same phoenix that Eago's core had also come from, and that it meant that he was destined for great things. For Eago also did great things. Terrible, but great. Well, Harry thought, he was descended from a long line of outstanding wizards and witches. So it was important that he did become great.


	4. Aboard The Hogwarts Express

**Right, apologies to anyone who has been waiting for the next chapter. So sorry it took (Reading update)...Three months. Wow. I have been cruel. Well anyway, here it finally is! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it!**

**Oh yes and I do not own 'Harry Potter' or anything related.**

**P.S. Those of you who are familiar with my other fanfic 'Harry Potter Abridged (With Commentary)' will be in for a treat this chapter when a character from that will have a guest star appearance.**

* * *

The rest of the summer rolled on without any major incident. Harry had his birthday, and as usual his parents invited almost every child Harry's age in Wizarding Britain over. It was enjoyable as usual, although Harry always wondered whether most of these boys and girls wanted to hang out with him just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived, not for whom he was. This year was special, however, because in a month they'd all be going to Hogwarts. When not playing, they'd all talk about what house they wanted to be sorted in. There were equal numbers of those who wanted to be in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Nobody wanted to be in Slytherin.

Harry would occasionally read the books his parents bought for him over the summer. On the day he was to go to Hogwarts, Harry woke up early morning and was too excited to go back to sleep. Deciding to get ready, when it was still six in the morning, Harry decided to read his books a bit more. He was in the middle of 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection' when his dad burst in.

"Wake up, lazy bones, today's the-oh, you're up already," his dad looked rather disappointed, "Well that's no fun! How long have you been awake?"

"About two hours," Harry answered him. His dad smiled.

"Well, you can always sleep in the car. Come along."

After they were all ready, the family stood waiting outside the mansion. Harry's parents had arranged them to be taken by ministry cars into London. Harry had never actually seen a car before. His family had always been able to get around by floopowder, portkey, even broomsticks on occasion! His parents had told him and his brother and sister that a car was a rectangular machine with wheels that people could use to get around places, not as fast as a broomstick, but was useful to get into London easily. Dan asked them what a machine was. His parents, looking stumped, later explained it was like the telly in the living room. Gerry had asked what a wheel was. Harry's parents explained that it was a circular thing that could help things move along on the ground. Harry had an image of a giant television with circles attached to the bottom. If it were just his dad explaining, he'd think it was just another one of his jokes. Harry had asked them what London was.

"It's a city," Harry's Dad explained.

"What's a city?" Harry asked.

"It's a place where millions of people live," his mum answered, "It's where the Leakey Cauldron and Diagon Alley are. It's where Uncle Sirius and Remus live."

**(No. Not together. They live in separate housing. Sorry Slashers)**

Harry had no idea that Uncle Sirius and Remus **(Again, not together, just to make it clear, there is no S/R slashing in this fanfic) **lived in the same place as diagon alley. He had never seen the outside of where they lived whenever they went to visit.

"How big is millions?"

"It's a thousand thousand."

That number itself sounded too large to comprehend.

When the cars arrived, Harry amused that they did look a bit like giant squashes TVs. He noticed what had to be the wheels that his mum and dad told them about. He was amazed at how they were able to move themselves as well as the giant cars. There had to be some kind of magic to it, he decided. It was like seeing something alien. They also had doors, like a little house. Harry was a little frightened of the car, though he dare not admit it. When beckoned in, Harry was amazed how they even had couches inside!

What he was not amazed about, however, was how slowly they seemed to move. Eventually he drifted back to sleep. When he woke up, what was outside was a wondrous sight. They were in a land full of houses, all next to each other. It looked like there were a hundred diagon alleys. Another sight were the people. Harry had never seen so many people in his life before, so many unrecognisable faces.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"This," Harry's Dad turned around to look at him, "Is London, Harry."

It was perhaps a sight as amazing as the bank. Harry guessed that most of these people had to be muggles. Harry knew very little about muggles. He knew that they were people without magic, which was something to be pitied, Harry thought. His mum was muggleborn, but his grandparents died before he was born. He knew that his mum had a muggle sister, who was married and had a son about Harry's age, but she didn't talk about them that much. To be honest Harry didn't give much thought to the muggle world. He knew that the clothes they wore were muggle, and that the telly was a muggle invention, but that was about it. Harry looked down to see what they were moving along. It looked similar to the main street in Diagon Alley, yet no one seemed to walk on it. It seemed reserved for the cars, which there were hundreds of. He assumed, due to the vast number of them, that most of the cars were driven by muggles, which he found confusing since he thought they ran on magic.

Eventually they got to King's Cross Station. When getting out, Harry looked around in wonder at the place he was in. Everything he knew was old, small and much of it dingy. The world of London, however, was new and clean and, most amazingly, numerous. He could not imagine how muggles created all of this without magic.

"Come on, Harry!" His mum called, seemingly from afar.

Harry followed his family. He did not like how people were staring at his mum, particularly at the back of her head, and whispering behind her back.

Harry had never been in a train station before. His parents had explained to him that a train was a huge, long machine. Harry imagined a giant long car.

"Right, now we just have to run through this wall."

Again, Harry was wondering if it was just another one of his dad's jokes. His mum not saying anything meant that it wasn't.

"You can just pass through the wall, Harry." She explained.

Despite being told this, the wall looked pretty solid.

"If you want," his mum told him, "You can push really quickly. However, we have to make sure no one sees us. I'll tell you when. Okay, go!"

Harry ran towards the wall, his eyes closed. The impact he was expecting never came. He opened his eyes to find the scene had changed. He and his family were on a different platform. Once again, his mum had to call him to break him out of his state of wonder. He was led to what he guessed was the train, which did look a bit like a long, rectangular car. His dad looked at his watch.

"Right, it's almost Eleven. You'd better get on, Harry."

Gerry started to sniff.

"Oh don't cry, Gerry," Harry tried to reassure her, hugging her, "I'll send you a present!"

"I'm-not-up-set," Gerry managed to say.

"Please don't start crying, Gerry," Harry's mum told her, also threatening to sniff, "We'll all start crying if you do. Well, goodbye, Harry," his mother bent down to hug him, though doing her best not to bend her back, "Don't forget to write."

"I won't Mum," Harry responded, hugging her back.

After they withdrew, Harry turned to his brother.

"Bet you're gonna miss me too, eh?" Harry grinned.

Dan kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

"I'll be okay," He responded.

"Nah, you won't be! Who'll tease you when I'm gone?" Harry ruffled his hair.

Harry's Dad now bent down to hug his son.

"Bye, Har. Just remember to have fun at Hogwarts. And don't work too hard."

"James," His wife said warningly.

"But not too easy either!"

As he spoke, Harry felt his father slip something into his pocket.

"Here's a little going away present," he whispered, "I'm sure you'll find some use for them."

Although he couldn't see, Harry guessed that his mother suspected something.

"James what are you-_James Potter, you are __not__ giving him what I think you're giving him, are you?"_

Harry's dad stood up and faced his mum, his face formed into an expression of mock hurt.

"What? How dare you! Do you really think that I would be so irresponsible a dad as to give him those?"

He gave a wink to Harry when his wife had turned away for a second.

"Right, you'd better get on the train now," He told him.

"Bye everyone," Harry said, stepping onto the train, "I'll send you a letter on Friday!"

After getting on the moving train, which seemed to move no quicker than the car, Harry looked through the window and waved to his family, who waved back. Harry continued to wave until they had vanished from sight. It was then that it struck Harry. For the first time in his life, he was alone. It was not a good feeling. He had never been alone before. Deciding that it would be best to sit down, Harry moved into the nearby compartment. Unfortunately all of the seats were filled, so he moved through the compartment carrying his luggage awkwardly. He hoped that the next compartment had at least one seat. Sadly though there wasn't. Harry ended up walking through the entire end of the train till he was at the end. Just my luck, he thought. Thankfully, though all of the seats in the last compartment were empty.

Save for one.

A boy was pulling on his new school robe. When he turned around, the short, blond haired boy looked startled.

"Oh! Hello Harry!"

Harry could already tell without looking at the deep blue eyes that it was not the boy Adam he had talked to a couple of months back. This triplet was more humble and reserved.

"Hello," Harry greeted back, "You're Adam's brother, right?"

"Yeah."

He gave out his hand to shake.

"Name's Darren."

Harry shook it. Both boys sat down after Harry had safely put his luggage away.

"Where are your brothers?" Harry asked. He found it quite odd that he wasn't with them. Darren shrugged.

"No idea," he answered, "Don't really care."

Harry found this statement to be quite startling.

"Why? Don't you get on with your brothers?"

Darren screwed his nose.

"Not really," he finally said.

"Oh."

For a moment there was silence.

"That's a snowy owl, right?"

Darren hinted at the cage by Harry.

"Yeah," he answered, "Her name's Hedwig."

"Ah right."

It was then that Harry remembered the item that his dad had slipped him. Taking it out of his pocket, he saw that it was a rectangular, wrapped up piece of cloth. It was made from a silvery material, which felt like water.

"What's that?" Darren asked.

"Dunno. It's something that my dad left me."

He unwrapped the cloth. To his surprise, there was an old looking parchment inside. Attached was a newer-looking note. It said 'to activate, wave your wand across and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' To deactivate, say 'mischief managed' instead.'

Taking out his wand, with Darren looking at what he was doing with great curiosity, Harry followed the instructions as stated and said 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' Words appeared on the once plain parchment of paper. It was entitled 'The Marauders' map', and underneath was written 'Created by Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs'. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs. Harry recognised them as nicknames his father, godfather and uncle gave each other. But he did not recognise 'Wormtail'. Darren, who was peering over to look at the parchment, gasped.

"It's a map of Hogwarts!" he exclaimed.

Harry looked at the parchment to see that it was a map of the school that he was going to. He unfolded it. Not only did it show every part of the school, but it also seemed to show every person who was in the school.

"How did your dad acquire something like that?"

"I don't know."

It looks as if his dad, godfather and uncle all created this map, along with the mysterious Wormtail. But why? And when? Was this made just to aid Harry? He looked at the cloth that the map came in. He instantly realised what it was, and so did Darren.

"And that's an invisibility cloak!"

A map of Hogwarts and an invisibility cloak. What was his dad thinking Harry could do with these two objects? He remembered how his mum reacted.

"Mind if I have a look?" Darren asked.

"Sure," Harry answered. It wasn't like he could run away with them anyway.

As Darren examined the map and cloak, the compartment door opened again.

"Hey, Harry!" Ron Weasley greeted.

"Hey Ron!" Harry greeted back to his best friend. He didn't feel as lonely as he did a few minutes ago.

"I've been trying to look for a seat but everyone was full. I had to walk through the entire train!"

"Yeah, I found that problem when I got on at the middle."

"Who's that?"

"His name's Darren."

"What's that you've got there?" Ron asked Darren.

He looked over the map.

"It's a couple of things Harry's dad left him before he got on the train."

Ron stared at the silvery cloth in Darren's hand.

"Blimey. Is that-"

"Yeah. It's an invisibility cloak."

Ron sat down.

"I heard invisibility cloaks were really rare and expensive. Course, I guess your parents could afford something like that."

Harry could not help but feel a hint of envy in Ron's voice.

"And what's that map of?"

"Hogwarts," Harry answered.

Ron sat down.

"I've seen you and your family around," He said to Darren, "Though my mum and dad always said to do nothing with yours."

"Yeah, my family aren't exactly popular."

"How come?"

Darren shrugged.

"No idea."

Some time later, the trolley lady came to the compartment. Harry and Darren bought loads of sweets and cakes. Ron seemed content with his sandwich, though he complained about what his mum had put in it. Harry and Darren had to force him to accept their sweets.

As the country rolled by, the three boys began to talk about their families. Then the topic moved on to what houses they wanted to be sorted in. Harry and Ron both expressed preference for Gryffindor as a first choice, Ravenclaw as a second, Hufflepuff as a third and Slytherin right at the bottom, though both clearly stated that should that happen, they'd rather get on the next train home than stay at Hogwarts.

"So what about you, Darren?" Ron asked, "Where'd you like to be sorted?"

"Well actually, it's the same choice you guys have! Gryffindor first, Ravenclaw second, Hufflepuff third and Slytherin fourth."

Darren laid back and sighed. As he looked outside, Harry could not help but wonder that his new found friend looked suddenly miserable.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, it's just," Darren was rubbing his eyes, "I guess this is something like what it's like to have friends. I wouldn't really know, you see. I've never had a friend in my life."

There was an awkward silence.

"What? Never?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"No. Well, my family keep to themselves, and I don't exactly get along with any of them. Especially my brothers."

At this, Ron laughed.

"Well no one gets along with their brothers, do they? I mean I have like five and there are times I'm not fond of any of them! Well, Bill and Charlie are all right, it's Fred and George and Percy you've got to look out for, but it doesn't mean we-you know- aren't fond of each other all the time."

"Well that's the thing. I'm never fond of my brothers."

"What? Never?" Harry asked.

"Never."

This Harry found shocking, and he could see from Ron's face that he was thinking the same thing. It was true that Harry often quarrelled with his brother, and at times had picked on him, even bullied him, but he still loved him. The idea that there was no love among brothers…

"What about your parents?" Harry asked, "They love you, don't they?"

Darren looked at him as if he asked if they could bring back the dead.

"Love me? They don't love me! I'm nothing but a black sheep to them! Or rather a white sheep. My whole family are dark wizards, and I don't exactly agree with all of the traditions. Okay I lie, not all of them are dark wizards, but it's certainly true about my nuclear family."

"New-clear-er?" Ron asked.

"You know? Parents and siblings?"

"Oh! Right."

Ron said this in a way that implied 'I'll take your word for it'.

"Well cheer up mate!"

Ron tossed him a chocolate frog.

"We'll be your friends!"

"Yeah!" Harry agreed, "You won't have to worry about being alone anymore! You're all right!"

Darren looked even more sombre as he nodded his head. He could be a bit more cheerful, Harry thought. From the looks of it, you'd think someone was talking to someone with a terminal illness about all the things he can do with his life.

As the three boys ate in silence, Harry thought about Darren's situation. He could not imagine-

Commentator: No! NO! You are NOT putting in a Goddamn 'Character can't imagine a certain scenario that the audience are well accustomed to' line in this fanfic!

**Commentator? What are you doing here? Get out of here! You're ruining the story!**

Commentator: You were about to do the same thing with your whole 'Harry can't imagine what it's like to grow up in a household where everyone hated him, but wait, the readers CAN imagine Harry growing up in a household where no one loved him, because THAT'S what originally happened in the novels and it's all so clever and witty!'

**Yes, I know it's been done before, but in an AU story this sort of thing was bound to happen sooner or later!**

Commentator: No, it's NOT! In too many shows you have characters sputtering crap like pre-federation humans can't imagining what it's like to have holodecks on board, or a famous wizard before becoming a famous wizard being told he has the potential to become the greatest wizard in the world, or, or, or a Superboy being told that he can become the world's strongest saviour or the paper's most mild mannered reporter, and you know what? It's not clever. It's not funny. It's lame, lame, lame, lame, lame, lame, LAME!

**All right, ALL RIGHT! If it'll stop you complaining, I won't put it in.**

Commentator: Thank you! I'm only looking out for you, Anon. Just trying to make sure you produce the best fanfics on the website. Plus someone had to break the really depressing atmosphere. Know what the term 'comic relief' originally referred to?

**Yes, I know what 'comic relief' originally meant!**

Commentator: Okay then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be somewhere.

(Poof)

* * *

**Right, sorry about that folks! A character of mine is having problems respecting boundaries. Once again, really sorry!**

* * *

Some time later, Neville Longbottom entered the compartment asking if any of them had seen his toad, Trevor. They told him that they haven't. Just a few seconds after he had closed the door, he had come back again with a bushy brown haired girl with prominent front teeth. Since he didn't recognise her, Harry guessed that she was muggleborn. After introducing themselves, the girl, Hermione Granger, got really excited when Harry mentioned his name. Some time after they had left, they were joined by Adam and the remaining brother.

"Ah, there you are, Darren!" Adam exclaimed, "We were wondering where you were! We were beginning to think you had jumped off the train!"

"It's almost as if you don't want to hang out with us!" The other brother grinned.

Harry turned to look at Darren. He had never seen such a look of utmost loathing on someone's face before. It was even hard to believe that someone could hate their brother or brothers that much. It's true that Harry had often teased and sometimes bullied his own brother, but he didn't hate him. He had seen Ron and his brothers often quarrel, but they seemed to love each other and get along in the end. Darren grinned.

"Now why would I not want to hang around with such excellent brothers as you two?" He said with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's what I said! Oh, hello there Harry, nice to see you again!" Adam greeted. The other brother was staring at Ron.

"You're a Weasley, right?" he asked. It was almost as if he was accusing him of being something.

"Er, yeah," Ron answered, "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Oh no, no problem at all."

The third brother had said that in the same way Adam had responded when Harry asked him what was wrong with wanting to be a hero.

"Mind if we join you?" Adam asked.

Harry noticed Darren shake his head, but he couldn't find a good reason to say no. Adam and the other brother had never actually done anything wrong to him. Well, apart from telling him that Cain Eago was a Gryffindor.

"Erm, Adam, are you sure?" The third brother asked. He was glancing at Ron. Ron had noticed this.

"If you've got a problem with me, then spit it out!"

"I told you I didn't have a problem, didn't I?"

"Yeah well, you clearly do, so why don't you just say it?"

"Michael doesn't like pureblooded wizards who support muggle and muggle born rights," Darren answered.

"And do you have a problem with my family?" Ron demanded from Adam.

"What? No, I don't care if you want to intermarry with muggleborns. Personally, I think you're one of the wizarding families that have sense."

Michael snapped his head to look at Adam.

"Sense for our wizarding blood to be spoiled by that from filthy muggles?"

"Oh for goodness sake, Michael, there's nothing filthy about muggle blood!"

"You don't like muggles either!"

"No, because they are our natural inferiors. Not because of some idea that muggles carry some sort of disease."

The two brothers stared at each other. At first, apart from their different coloured eyes, they appeared to be identical and complemented each other, just like Ron's older brother Fred and George do. When the issue of blood purity came up, however, that's when they diverged.

"You know what?"

Harry stood up to face the two brothers.

"I don't think I want to share a compartment with people who think that muggles and muggleborns are scum."

Ron and Darren also stood up. Adam looked sorrowful.

"I was afraid you'd take it that way," he said, "But maybe we don't want to go."

"Yeah," said Michael, and they had become identical again, "You know what Adam, I think we will stay, and I think as guests we deserve to be treated as such."

He moved into the compartment and stuck his hand into the bag of every flavoured beans. Just before Ron could express his protests, Michael yelled as he took his hand out of the bag, with Ron's pet rat Scabbers hanging one of his fingers with his teeth.

"Get it off! Get it off!" he screamed, trying to shake the rat off. Adam came to his rescue, trying to take hold of Scabbers and pull him off. It was a hilarious scene. The three other boys could not help but roar with laughter. Eventually Adam was able to pull Scabbers off. Michael screamed, trying to wrap his bloodied finger with the sleeve of his robes. Scabbers' teeth were clutching what Harry guessed was skin.

"I'll kill that rodent!"

"Hey!"

Ron drew out his wand.

"No one's killing my rat!"

"Then maybe you should keep better control of your pet!"

All boys had drawn out their wands.

"You're siding with these strangers, Darren? Over your own flesh and blood?" Adam asked.

"These guys are more flesh and blood to me than you two have ever been!" Darren snarled.

Michael laughed.

"These guys will turn against you. You do know that, right?"

The compartment's door slid open again. Hermione Granger had returned. She looked quite startled to see the five boys pointing wands at each other.

"What do you want?" Michael snapped at her.

"I was just coming around to let people know that the train is about to stop soon, and that everyone should start getting ready."

The five boys looked out of the window.

"You shouldn't be fighting, you know," she told them firmly, "It's against the rules. Plus someone could get hurt."

"Did we ask for your opinion?" Adam asked, "Gonna rat us out, are you?" He added as he raised Scabbers.

"Well, I just might if I see something like this again. Honestly, you lot aren't going to last very long if you're going to continue behaving so immaturely like this."

And then she was gone. Everyone lowered their wands. Harry could see from everyone's expression apart from Darren that they were thinking the same thing: What a busybody. It was perhaps the only thing that both sides agreed on.

"Here."

Adam threw Scabbers by the tail to Ron. The two brothers then decided to leave. At the door, they turned their heads to look at their remaining brother.

"You'd better choose Slytherin like us, Darren," Michael told him.

"These two aren't going to stay your friends forever," Adam added, "All the three of us have is each other."

Darren grinned.

" I don't know why you two even want to be sorted into Slytherin with your survival talk. Wouldn't the best place for you two be any house BUT Slytherin?"

Then the two were gone.

"What did they mean by us not staying your friends forever?" Harry asked.

Darren's face looked sombre.

"You'll find out soon enough," he said.

"And what did you mean by Slytherin not accepting them?" Ron asked, "Why wouldn't Slytherin accept them?"

By this stage Darren had moved to drag out his case.

"Everything will be clear by the time we get to the castle. Now come on, we've got to get going."

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**The next chapter should come in very soon. Once again, apologies for the break in the story earlier.**


	5. The sorting

**Wow. I was able to post the next chapter sooner than expected! The next one may take a while, though.**

**And I do not own 'Harry Potter' or anything related.**

* * *

After putting on their school robes, Harry and Ron along with Darren got off the train. They eventually met up with Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper and keeper of the keys at Hogwarts, who led them to the boats that took them to Hogwarts. Throughout the entire journey from the train to the Entrance Hall, Darren looked extremely nervous. Of course, everyone looked nervous, Harry thought. He himself felt a bit queasy. But Darren looked as if he was walking towards death itself. Harry could imagine his heart beating furiously at a fast rate.

Then came the Sorting. First sorted was Hannah Abbott, a muggleborn (Harry guessed that she was muggleborn since he did not recognise her). Then came Susan Bones, a member of the illustrious Bones family, possibly as famous as the Potters. The third to be sorted was Terry Boot, who became the first Ravenclaw.

"Brown, Lavender!" Professor McGonagall called.

"Gryffindor!" Shouted the hat when it was placed upon her head.

"Bustrode, Milicent!"

This was a girl Harry knew of but who was never invited to one of his Birthday parties. He guessed that she came from a dark wizarding family, so it was no surprise when the Hat shouted 'Slytherin!'

"Corner, Michael!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Eago, Adam!"

The hall became deathly silent. Harry was sure that he must have misheard her. He felt his heart stop. What was even more of a shock to him was that it was Darren's brother Adam who was walking down the hall towards the hat. He remembered what his dad said after telling him that Adam wanted to be sorted in Slytherin.

"_If his grandfather was around, he'd have a heart attack and die right there on the spot! And if he had a grave, you could hear him rolling in it as far as Australia!"_

"_Did you know his grandfather then?"_

"_Oh yes. Let's just say myself and your mother knew him very well."_

Harry also remembered his dad telling him that Eago was a profound Slytherin hater. That was what he meant. It also explained why his dad had such an icy relationship with Darren's dad, and why he always ushered them away from his family whenever they were around. Because they were Eago's family. Harry now understood why Adam and Michael were telling Darren things like 'they'll turn against you' and 'they won't stay your friends forever'. He also now understood why Darren had not given his last name, and why he refused to explain what his brothers were talking about, and why he was so nervous about facing the sorting. Harry spun around to look at Darren, who had a remorseful expression. He turned around to look at Adam. He couldn't believe that Eago had grandchildren, let alone children. He hadn't heard of Eago having anything like that. From the sounds of it, neither did anyone else.

"Did she say 'Eago'?"

"Nah, it couldn't be, could it?"

"But that's what she said, she definitely said it!"

"I didn't know that Eago had a son!"

"Do you think he'll grow up to be a dark wizard just like his dad?"

"Course he will! There's no doubt about it!"

"Holy cricket!" Hermione Granger had exclaimed, "He must be the grandson of Cain Eago, the most terrible dark wizard in a hundred years since Voldemort! Eago started the greatest wizarding war the world had seen since the rise of Grindelwald in the early twentieth century, and tried to take over every wizarding country. Most of his victims included those sorted in Slytherin!"

Adam appeared to be deaf to all these whispers as he proudly strolled towards the Sorting Hat. It was as if he had his own personal shield that separated him from all these people whispering about his grandfather and what it meant for him. He sat upon the stool as if it was a throne. McGonagall placed the hat upon his head.

"Slytherin!" It roared the moment it was placed upon his head.

Well he got his wish, Harry thought. The hall became even more silent than it was before, if that was even possible. No one looked more shocked than the Slytherins sitting at the table. It was probably because no one would have thought in a thousand years that any descendant of the most infamous Slytherin hater would ever be sorted into that same house. There was uproar at that table.

"WE DON'T WANT HIM!"

"RE-SORT HIM INTO ANOTHER HOUSE!"

"Any house is fine but Slytherin!"

"We won't accept the offspring of the Blood Traitor!"

"There has to be a mistake!"

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall roared.

The hall became silent again.

"The Sorting Hat has made its decision. This boy is in Slytherin, and you will accept him. And if any of you EVER say that disgusting word again, be warned that you will be instantly expelled faster than you can say 'Golden Snitch'!"

After taking the hat off his head, Adam walked towards the table of reluctant Slytherins. None of them said anything, but Harry could see the cold hatred on their faces as they stared at the descendant of the man who had killed many of their kind, possibly even relatives or friends. Adam, sitting at the end of the table, indifferent to their hate, just grinned at all of them. Bulstrode, the first First Year to be sorted into Slytherin, looked terrified of him as if he was about to blow her into a thousand pieces and shuffled as far away from him as possible. Harry had the odd feeling that Adam was enjoying the fear his presence was creating.

"Now then. Eago, Darren!"

Darren now walked through the hall, which exploded into whispers again.

"There's another one?"

"Look at him, he looks just like the other one!"

"Bet he's gonna be a dark wizard as well!"

"SILENCE!" McGonagall shouted. "Anymore malicious whispering and fifty points will be deducted from that person, and anyone who has not been sorted yet will receive a detention! Come along, Eago."

Harry could not help but feel that McGonagall expressed the same contempt as the rest of the hall did when she said his last name. Sombre looking, Darren looked as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, as if he had never been happy in his life, like he was walking down a walk of shame. When he finally got to the stool, which seemed like forever, McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat upon his head.

"Gryffindor!" It roared, as instantly as when it sorted Adam. The hall did not appear to be as shocked as it was when it sorted Adam. Probably because everyone guessed that since Eago was a Gryffindor, then naturally his offspring would be as well. The table was not as hostile as the Slytherin one, but there was still this feeling of hatred and distrust emanating from it.

"Eago, Michael!"

"How many of them are there?"

"We'll be overrun!"

Michael was sorted into Slytherin, although he was not as sorted as quickly as his brothers were. He sat next to Adam, both of whom seemed oblivious to the hostility around them.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"Thank God!"

"I thought we'd never hear the end of them!"

"But three Eagos?"

"This school is gonna suffer. They should just expel all three before they bring us or the wizarding world trouble."

After that, time seemed to speed up again. Seamus Finnegan, Gryffindor. Gregory Goyle, Slytherin. Hermione Granger, Gryffindor. Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor. Morag MacDougal, Ravenclaw.

Now time seemed to slow again as McGonagall got nearer to Harry's own name. Luna Moon, Ravenclaw. Theodore Nott, Slytherin. Pansy Parkinson, Slytherin. Padma Patil, Ravenclaw. Parvati Patil, Gryffindor. Sally-Anne Perks, Hufflepuff. Then at last came Harry's name. Whispers broke out sporadically throughout the hall, although not as many as with the Eago brothers. When the hat was placed upon his head, he heard a voice inside it. The voice told him that he was difficult to place, but had great courage, not a bad mind, plenty of talent, and a strong thirst to prove himself. As it was wondering where to put him, Harry kept thinking Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor.

_Gryffindor, eh?_ The voice had said, _Yes, I can see that you are quite suited for that house. Are you sure?_

Harry thought with a certain yes.

_So be it, then._ "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table cheered.

After everyone was sorted (Ron was also sorted into Gryffindor), the feast began. Darren, who was sitting on Harry's left, tried to help himself to some of the food, but the people neighbouring him kept grabbing it before he had the chance.

"Oi, Eago," Seamus Finnegan said, "Leave some for the rest of us."

This Harry felt was unfair. Darren was no more taking food than anyone else, and he hadn't successfully retrieve anything while everyone else's plates were full. Seamus was reminding him of Michael sticking his hand into the bag of beans earlier.

"Leave him alone," Said Harry.

Everyone who had heard Harry went silent. Harry could imagine why. Nobody would have thought that Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, whom Cain Eago tried to kill as a baby, would ever stand up for his grandson. Even Ron looked shocked. Seamus in particular looked at Harry as if he was mad.

"Harry, didn't you hear what Professor McGonagall said his name was?" He asked him. Seamus pointed his finger at Darren "Don't you realise what he is?"

"He's a guy I met on the train and we had a good chat and shared sweets with each other," Harry answered.

No one looked more shocked than Darren. Did he really think Harry was going to hold that against him, Harry thought. Did Darren really believe that I would blame him for what his granddad did to me?

"He's an Eago!" Seamus shouted, "He's the son of the most terrible dark wizard ever to live-"

"Grandson," Hermione Granger mentioned. Everyone looked at her.

"Well, it's true. Eago was about 60 when he was defeated. He's more likely to be his grandson, am I right?" she asked Darren.

"Does it really make any difference?" Seamus laughed, "He's a member of his family and that's what really matters! Harry, how can you defend him after what his granddad did to you and your mum?"

"Yeah, that was his granddad, not him," Harry answered, "I'm not going to hold him responsible for what a member of his family did to me and my family."

"You've been duped!" Seamus shouted, "Be careful, Harry! When you least expect it, he'll try to avenge his granddad and murder you!"

"I think I can tell the right sort for myself thanks," Harry responded coldly to him. Seamus looked as if Harry had punched him.

"What's going on here?"

The commotion in the middle of the table had attracted the attention of Professor McGonagall.

"Nothing, Professor," Seamus answered.

"Good."

No one spoke again. Harry took twice as much as everyone else.

"Here," he said to Darren, moving some of the food from his own plate with a knife on Darren's, "You can have some of mine."

Darren still looked stunned.

"Why?" he asked.

Harry smiled.

"Well since you haven't got any."

Darren looked suspiciously at the food, but then changed his mind and ate it. Harry turned his head to look at Ron, who appeared uncertain.

"Are you gonna tell he's going to blow me up to bits when I'm not looking?"

"Well, Harry, he is an Ea-"

And with that, Harry turned his head away from his best friend.

"Oh come on, don't be like that! Harry!"

Harry decided to ignore Ron.

"Harry!"

Which was very hard to do when your best friend was trying to talk to and you tried your best to pretend they don't exist. Eventually, Ron said 'Sod you, then.'

After the feast had ended, McGonagall held a great number back, allowing only a few to leave. Most of those allowed to leave, Harry noticed, were those who had remained silent when the Eago brothers were being sorted. When they had left the hall, Harry could hear McGonagall shouting, obviously for telling the hall off for disobeying her.

"Thanks for standing up for me," Darren thanked as they were being led to the Gryffindor chamber by Ron's older brother Percy, who was a prefect.

"No problem," Harry replied, "That's what friends do, right? Did you really think I was going to hold that against you?"

"Well, I thought, of all people-"

"My parents taught me to judge a person for who they are, not on their ancestors. It was your grandfather who attacked me and my parents, not you. Were you in any way responsible for what happened?"

"What?" Darren seemed horrified at the question, "No! How could I-?"

"Then we have no problem."

"You shouldn't turn your back on your friends just because of me. I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Look, don't worry about it."

"But, you don't even know me! I mean we only chatted for a few hours!"

"Even if it was an acquaintance, I'd stand up for them."

As they continued walking, Harry noticed that Darren looked deliriously happy, as if he was expecting to lose a loved one, and was prepared for it, only to discover at the last minute that the danger had passed.


	6. The First Letter To Home

**Hello everyone! Well it took me a while to post the next chapter (Two months. Well I did say it would take me a while!), but I've finally been able to finish it and post it! The next chapter, however, may take even longer. Well I'm optimistic!**

**Since I've already responded to I love Jasper, let me respond to Memory King's review. First of all thank you for your review, which was the first ever. It was good that this story finally got one and I am glad that it was a really good one!**

**Yes, I can understand that some of that from Chapter Four was bad for the flow of the story. However I do feel that all of those comments needed to be where they were. I was however concerned that the Commentator's appearance would have been bad, though I'm happy that I Love Jasper loved it. His appearance truly got a mixed review.**

**Don't worry though, none of that will occur in this chapter, and I have not planned anything like it in the future (Though you never know. I might have no choice but be tempted to throw in another irony line and have the Commentator stop me)**

Commentator: The hell you will!

**Shut up, Com, I know what you did last Wednesday!**

Commentator: ...Continue.

**Thank you. Btw if anyone of you reading this are worried about my mental state, don't be. I'm not a schizophrenic.**

Professor: Actually, Anonymius, schizophrenia has nothing to do with split personal-

**I know! It's just that some of my readers may not know that!**

Commentator: Oh so you're just going to fuel their ignorance by using the wrong word? This is how language evolves, I take it? That someone somewhere uses the wrong term and everyone is too chicken to correct them so the wrong word goes down in history and the right one becomes forgotten? Like how people think Frankenstein refers to the monster rather than the doctor, or how people call every undemocratic leader a dictator when a dictator refers to someone with theoretical absolute power when many of them actually share power and are more like oligarchs, or, or, or how people think intolerance towards Muslims is racist when, although clearly wrong, 'racism' refers to judging someone because of their race, not their religion and to say it's racist is racist itself because you're assuming that Islam is a race rather than a religion and that it excludes races who are predominantly Muslim and that all people of that race are Muslim! Did you know the term 'Saracen' meant Muslim and the people of the day treated them as a race rather than a religion? And do you know when that was? THE MIDDLE AGES!

**God, do you ever stop ranting?**

Commentator: You're one to talk! At least MY rants get out in the world!

**-Touche. But seriously people I just love these characters and using them whenever I have the chance! If you want to check out more of their wacky scenarios, check out my numerous commentaries. If you haven't already done so, that is.**

Sammy: What about me?

**Yes, yes, you're important too, Sammy. Now before you lose all interest, here's the chapter!**

**Oh yes and I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.**

* * *

Five days after first coming to Hogwarts, during the evening, Harry was feeling particularly annoyed. Realising that he should send a letter to his family, he got some parchment of paper and a quill, and began writing.

_Dear Mum and Dad, Dan and Gerry,_

_It's been a week since I first came to Hogwarts. I got sorted into Gryffindor, so Dad, you won't have to disown me for being sorted into Slytherin!_

_The whole castle is amazing. __All of the lessons are different. Professor McGonagall is really strict. This week we were trying to turn matchsticks into needles. The only ones who were able to make any difference were a girl called Hermione Granger and Darren Eago._

_Darren's all right. He's nothing like his grandfather, or his brothers, although that doesn't stop everyone from bullying him._

Harry thought back to the first day the school term officially started.

"Is that Harry Potter?"

"Yeah, it is! But who's that walking beside him?"

"It's that Eago kid."

"But why are they walking together?"

"Hey! You don't think they've become friends, do you?"

"What? Harry Potter and an Eago? Nah, couldn't be. That's like Dumbledore and Grindelwald being the best of buds!"

No one drew more attention or got more whispers than Harry and Darren, Harry for being the boy-who-lived, and Darren for being the grandson of Cain Eago. Together, they got even more whispers, because no one could understand how the vanquisher of the most terrible dark wizard to live and his grandson could possibly be friends.

Harry saw that it was more difficult to be infamous than famous. Many students, whenever they saw Darren, moved out of his way as if he was about to kill them. Others just gave him cold stares and muttered angrily as he passed by. Many of them often bullied him, and whenever he saw this, Harry would stand up for him. He was soon looking through a book on hexes to see what would be good to teach people a lesson. After Wednesday afternoon, Ron's brothers Fred and George had placed a dungbomb in Darren's bag, which caused a great number of laughs from onlookers when it exploded.

"That wasn't funny, guys!" Harry said angrily to the two of them. He could not believe that Fred and George could do anything so malicious until now. Their grins vanished.

"Harry, we were only having a laugh," George protested.

"Guys, leave him alone."

To Harry's surprise, Ron had now spoken up. Since the term started, Harry and Ron hadn't spoken to each other. They had always sat next to each other during classes, but they hadn't actually talked. With their brother now at Darren's aid, Fred and George decided to leave him be. Harry bent down to help pick up Darren's things. He could not help but admire how calm he was looking after having his bag destroyed and all his school things smeared in dung.

"Here, let me help," Ron offered, also bending down to pick up Darren's things and trying to clean them as best as he could.

"Harry, Darren, I'm sorry I was such a git on Sunday."

"It's okay, Ron," Darren said.

"No it's not okay!" Ron exclaimed before Harry could, "My parents also taught me not to judge someone on their background! Just wish some of my brothers would have also learnt that!"

Hearing Ron say this made Harry feel happier than he had ever felt. He didn't even realise he felt so miserable, his contempt for Ron numbing the pain of estrangement. He was glad to have his lifelong friend back on his side. He also noticed a expression of blissful happiness on Darren's face as well, almost identical to the one he had after Harry made it clear to him that being Eago's grandson meant nothing to him.

"God, look at all your things!" Ron exclaimed, "They're all ruined!"

"It's fine, really," Darren tried to assure him as he gathered everything up.

"It's-? IT'S NOT FINE AT ALL!" Harry now exclaimed, "How is it fine?"

Darren's expression remained unchanged.

"Darren, you've got to stand up for yourself!" Harry told him.

Darren stood up straight to look at Harry.

"Define 'standing up for yourself'," He asked him.

"Like 'jinx the guy who pranked you' kind of 'Stand up for yourself'!" Ron interjected, "Or if you don't know any good jinxes, punch the guy!"

"I don't believe in unnecessary aggression," Darren instantly said.

"You don't think having a dungbomb being placed in your bag requires necessary aggression?" Harry asked.

"No," Was Darren's reply.

"Darren if you don't fight back," Ron continued, "It will go on until you're in Seventh Year-"

"I won't resort to the measures of a bully just to make my life easier," Darren said firmly.

There was silence.

"Darren, we're not the villains here-" Harry was beginning to say.

"I'm not saying that at all! I'm just saying that there are other ways to solve your problems. I was caught off guard, next time I won't give anyone the chance to slip something in my bag."

He swung the bag over his shoulder.

"There, see? No permanent harm done."

"Wait! W-wasn't that bag all torn just now?" Ron asked bewilderedly.

"Was it?" Darren asked him.

"I could have sworn it was! Hold on-"

Ron had unzipped Darren's bag and had taken out some of the books, flipping through the pages. To Harry's amazement, they were completely clean, as if they were never spoiled.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked.

Darren grinned.

"Magic, of course! Now then, shouldn't we be on our way to class?"

Ron and Harry stared at each other. Harry could see the same feeling of amazement and awe reflected in Ron's face.

From that point onward, the three of them became friends, or more precisely, their friendship went through a rebirth, like a phoenix. After thinking back to that day, Harry continued to write.

_This Friday morning we had Potions. I don't think the teacher likes me very much. _(In fact Harry gained the impression that the tall, thin, goatee bearded man didn't like him very much the first day he came to Hogwarts. After talking to a teacher wearing a turban, the man looked at Harry, stroking his goatee. The moment he looked at him he felt his scar burned. It had never done that before. Harry asked Percy, another one of Ron's brothers who was a prefect, who it was. Percy told him that his name is Professor Luke Loki, the Potions master. The look he gave him was similar to the one Nero Eago had given him in the uniform shop, only much more intense.)

Harry thought back to the Potions lesson. At first, the refined Professor Loki appeared charming and eloquent as he introduced the lesson. It was when he started asking Harry question that he saw a side more like that from Sunday. _He kept asking me questions I had not a clue how to answer, like what are the ingredients need for a pollyjuice potion, or, and I had no idea what he was talking about _Harry wrote.

"But Professor!" Darren protested, putting up his hand, "We don't learn about the Pollyjuice potion until fifth year-"

"I do not remember giving you permission to speak, Eago," Loki snarled, "A point from Gryffindor."

"Yeah! Shut up, Eago!" A Slytherin girl called.

"Nor was I under the impression that you were the teacher in this class, Miss Parkinson," Said Loki as he put his hands together and walked towards his desk, "One point from Slytherin also."

A number of the Gryffindors were giving angry stares at Darren for losing them a point. Harry bet that if it was someone else who stood up for him they wouldn't look so condemning. Even the Slytherins were giving angry stares towards Darren, as if it was his fault they lost a point as well. He could see his brothers sniggering towards him. At once they set to work on the day assignment: curing boils. Harry paired up with Darren, much to Ron's disappointment, who was probably expecting to pair up with Harry. Instead he paired up with Hermione Granger, the busy body from the train, much to his dismay. As he turned to work with Hermione, Harry saw an expression on Ron's face he had never seen before. As they prepared the potion, Harry noticed Adam and Michael working together.

"No, no, no!" Michael kept saying to his brother, "porcupine quills go in after the cauldron is taken off the fire, AFTER!"

It seemed that Michael knew perfectly well what he was doing, whereas Adam was hopeless at it. Darren would later tell him that during the summer, Michael spent virtually all of his time reading the books they bought in Diagon Alley, while he and Adam played Quidditch (a competitive game was best played when each side hated each other), and the book he spent the most time with (Other than 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them') was 'Magical Drafts and Potions'. That was not to say neither him nor Adam didn't spend diligent time with the books, although he had noticed that his brother was struggling with the Potions textbook to the point where he had actually thrown it away in disgust one time. He was alot more successful with the other books, especially with the DADA book. Darren himself explained that he didn't have a problem with any of the books. Harry could see that. Aside from Hermione Granger, Darren was at the top of the class in every subject they had taken (actually now that he thought of it, he was probably better than Hermione!). It was a shame though that no one else noticed or appreciated this talent, not even the teachers. The only one who did, and it was one of the few things he liked about her, was Professor McGonagall.

Darren had told Harry that Michael was essentially the Hermione Granger of the Slytherin First Years. Adam, on the other hand, appeared to be struggling. He had failed to turn his matchstick into a needle, unlike either of his brothers, and was not doing well in Herbology or Astronomy. His strong subjects, however, were Charms, History of Magic, and especially Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was an achievement itself thought Harry given who was teaching them. Harry had no idea how Darren knew what was going on with his brothers, since he never seemed to be around them and was always at Harry's side.

Harry noticed a similar conversation going on between Hermione and Ron, though Hermione was not as sharp but Harry was sure that her patronising voice was irritating Ron to no end. Sometime after Michael had told off Adam, a large Slytherin First Year sneaked by and dropped something that looked an awful lot like a firework. The brothers had clearly noticed what had happened, and the moment the Slytherin had turned his back Adam had grabbed and waved his wand and the rocket jump out of their cauldron and into the one the Slytherin was walking towards. Before he could react his cauldron exploded, splashing the entire Slytherin side of the classroom with the potion. They all cried as boils started to emerge all over and their clothes started to burn away. Adam and Michael were miraculously unharmed.

"WHO DID IT?" Loki shouted, "WHO MESSED UP THEIR POTION?"

His eyes rested on where the cauldron in the middle once stood.

"_You!_" He shouted at the Slytherin boy and the girl he was paired with, "_What did you do?_"

They were too busy clawing at their painful boils to answer.

"All of you! To the Infirmary! NOW!" He bellowed at everyone who got caught in the splash, "And you two," he said to the pair whose cauldron exploded, "two points from Slytherin and detention!"

The Gryffindor half burst into laughter. Even Harry could not help but laugh at the Slytherins' misfortune. The only ones who didn't laugh were Neville Longbottom, Hermione and Darren. Hermione tried to look disdainful towards everyone who was laughing, though there were too many of them. Even Darren was not looking pleased at Harry, which succeeded in making him feel a little guilty. Loki turned slowly towards the Gyffindor half, who instantly stopped laughing. Loki's eyes however were fixed only on Harry.

"You think it's funny, do you Potter?" He said softly and deadly, "Other people's misfortune?"

Harry shook his head.

"Well then," Loki continued, "Let's see how funny you find it when I take seven points from Gryffindor."

Time seemed to have slowed down. Seven points... He had only been to Hogwarts for about a week and he had already lost his house more points than anyone else!

No one appeared to blame him, though, as they left the classroom. This only made Harry angrier. No one was upset at him for losing seven points when they got angry at Darren for losing only one! Pulling his mind away from those negative thoughts, Harry continued writing.

_Visited Hagrid today, along with Ron and Darren._

Harry had hoped that this visit would make him feel better after what had happened in Potions, and that he may have found some clues as to why Loki hated him so much. Sadly though, it had failed to do either.

Ron wanting to visit Hagrid also, and Darren being persuaded to come, the trio went to Hagrid's cottage. Knocking on the door alerted Fang, Hagrid's dog. Harry could hear Hagrid pulling Fang away from the door before opening it.

"Ah, hello there, Harry!" He greeted, "I see yeh've brought- WHAT'S HE DOIN' HERE?"

Hagrid was pointing a shaking finger towards Darren. Harry turned back to look at Hagrid.

"He's my friend, Hagrid," Harry explained, "I've brought him along."

Hagrid gave Harry a worrying look.

"Harry," He was saying, "Yeh shouldn't trust the Eagos."

He pointed his finger again at Darren.

"They're all rotten ter the core, nothin' but bad blood the lot of them!"

Hagrid's words had shaken Harry's own core. He had never imagined such words coming from Hagrid's mouth.

"Aren't you the one who's always saying that it doesn't matter who's someone's family is?" He asked coldly.

Hagrid looked taken aback.

"Well I, er," He stammered, "I-I know I said that, and of course it doesn't matter! N-no, not at all-"

"Maybe I should go," Darren said, starting to walk away.

"No," Harry said firmly, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him back, "You're staying. I assumed I'm still welcomed?"

"What? Of course yeh are Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed, "Co-come right in!"

Although he accepted the food that Hagrid gave them, Harry didn't speak to him at all while he was there, quietly reading the newspaper. Darren looked awkward, as if he felt he wasn't supposed to be there. The only ones who were talking and who broke the uneasy silence were Hagrid and Ron, who talked about the latter's brothers. After finishing the newspaper, Harry decided that it was time to leave and got up. Hagrid opened the door, though Harry did not look at him. He decided that he would not visit Hagrid again anytime in the near future. All of this Harry put in his letter to his family, or at least a summary of it. He finished the letter with _Hope you are_ _all well. Love from Harry xx_.

The next day at breakfast, Harry got a reply from his family:

_Dear Harry,_

_It's great that you're enjoying yourself. Dan and Gerry miss you, and can't wait for you to come back for Christmas._

_Yes, McGonagall can be very strict, though she's really a pussycat! _(Harry could tell his dad's humour here)

_You shouldn't worry too much about Professor Loki. He tends to be cruel to all of his students._

_As for Hagrid, you shouldn't hold his prejudice against him. People tend to be wary of those related to dark wizards, and think that they've inherited their evil. If you say that this Darren's a decent bloke, then we believe you, but please don't hold a grudge against Hagrid. He's very fond of you, you know, and it would just break his heart if you tried to not act like friends with him!_

_Love,_

_Mum, Dad, Dan and Gerry_

_xxx_

After reading this, Harry thought that he might just give Hagrid another chance today.

* * *

**Hey Com!**

Commentator: Hmm?

**How come you didn't interrupt the chapter this time?**

Commentator: Whatever do you mean?

**Don't you hate irony lines? That one about Dumbledore and Grindelwald kinda was one of those!**

Commentator: Oh don't worry. I've taken all the necessary precautions.

**What the? Is that the draft for the next chapter? GIVE THAT BACK!**

Commentator: Try and catch me first! AHOO! AHOO! AHOOAHOOAHOO!

(Runs away)

**Groan. We'll be right back!**


	7. The Mirror of Erised

**Okay. I finally managed to retrieve the draft for this episode. Unfortunately, I had to make a deal with the Commentator. In exchange for the draft, I had to let him comment on any new reviews.**

Commentator: Thank you, Anonymius! Now our first review is from- Hey wait a minute! There aren't any new reviews!

**Hee hee hee heeeeeeee! But seriously people, should I continue including this character in this fanfic, or should I exclude him.**

Commentator: WHAT?

**Sorry Com, it's just that I feel that you may not belong in this fic. So I'm giving people the choice: Should he stay or should he go? A poll will come up on my profile for you to decide.**

Commentator: Oh fine then! If you want this fic to revert back to being serious and boring, then don't vote for me. However if you would prefer this fic to remain funny and exciting, then vote for me!

**Yes, thank you for that Com. And without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

A week later, it was announced that there would be flying lessons on Thursday afternoon. Although Harry already knew how to fly, he was excited because it would give him a chance to fly, First Years being forbidden to bring in broomsticks. The only problem was that Gryffindor was going to do it with Slytherin.

It was even less fun than he had imagined. The instructor, Madam Hooch, was going through very basic steps that Harry found really boring, since he knew them all. He hadn't felt this bored since being in Professor Binns' classes on History of Magic. Well, maybe not as bored as that. The most interesting thing that had happened so far was the effect of what happened when the students said 'up!' Harry's broom instantly flew to his hand. The same thing happened with Darren's, as well as Adam's. Michael's broom hovered halfway before reaching his hand. While Madam Hooch was pacing up and down, Adam and Michael were looking rather mischievous. They were looking at Neville. Adam pointed his wand at Neville and shot a jinx at his rear.

"Ow!" Neville cried.

Madam Hooch turned around.

"What is up with you, Longbottom?" She demanded.

"N-Nothing, Mam," Neville answered.

"Well stop jogging like you've got to go to the toilet, then!"

Most people laughed. What a stupid woman, Harry thought. Can't she see that something's not right?

But that wasn't the worse of it.

Grinning evilly, Michael spoke when Madam Hooch had her back against them.

"Nothing that's any business of yours, you owl-eyed bat," he said in an exact imitation of Neville's voice.

Hooch spun around to look at Neville.

"What did you just say to me?" She whispered.

Not even McGonagall had ever looked that furious.

"What? No, it wasn't me-"

"10 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR, LONGBOTTOM! Now come with me," She grabbed him by the ear, "We'll see your Head of House as to what to do with you!"

"But Professor!" Harry protested, "It wasn't-"

"Not another word from anyone," Hooch said firmly.

"But Eago-"

"Silence! Or 10 points from whoever speaks next!"

As she dragged poor Neville away, Adam and Michael were doing their very best to keep on straight faces. When they were out of earshot, they roared with laughter.

"D-did you see the look on their faces?" Adam managed to say through his fits of laughter, tears streaming down his face as his rested on his brother's shoulder for support.

"That wasn't funny, guys!" Darren said angrily, "What did you do that for?"

"Well, it was such a boring lesson," Michael explained, "that we decided to provide some entertainment. And Longbottom always provides good entertainment, doesn't he?"

The other Slytherins, who had joined in the brothers' laughter, laughed even harder.

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT TO HIM! WHAT YOU DID WASN'T HILARIOUS, IT WAS BLOODY CRUEL AND TWISTED!"

Darren's voice thundered across the pitch. You wouldn't expect such power from such a small person. Harry had never seen such a ferocious look on a person's face before, and he had met many scary people in his life, let alone on his friend's, who had always endured the bullying he received with such indifference. It made McGonagall and his mum look like pussycats in comparison. Most of the Slytherins at once stopped laughing, and went pale and fearful. The other Gryffindors looked glad that he wasn't furious with them. The only ones who didn't seem affected, which Harry found incredible, were his brothers.

"Language, big brother," Adam warned, "Mother and Father wouldn't like you swearing in front of your little brother."

"Then again," Michael added, "You're already the black sheep in the family, now aren't you?"

"Oh look!"

Adam had spotted something sparkling in the grass, and walked over to pick it up.

"That oaf dropped his remembral!"

"Give it here, Adam."

Everyone now looked at Harry, who spoke up.

"Oh what a surprise," Adam mocked sarcastically, "Heroic Harry has arrived to stand up for the downtrodden. And I did hope to become such good friends!"

"Give it here!" Harry repeated.

Adam grinned.

"If you want it so badly-"

Adam stretched his hand towards his broom, said 'up' and at the same leapt on it. Not even Harry was that agile. Michael also got on his broom simultaneously, as if he had known what was going through Adam's head, although he did not move as quickly.

"-You'll have to take it from me!"

He pulled the front of his stick upwards and shot into the air. His brother did the same.

"Come on, Potter!" Michael shouted, "Fly up and face us! What's the matter? Too chicken?"

"How about you too, Darren?" Adam called, "Or are you all bark and no bite? I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave? Surely you're not too scared about breaking a little school rule, are you?"

Harry and Darren looked at each other, and both knew what the other one was thinking. They stretched their hands over their brooms, said 'Up!'

"Wait a minute!" Hermione Granger cried, "You can't! Madam Hooch said not to! Don't throw your student lives away just for a remembral! I'm especially surprised of you Darren, I thought you had more sense-"

"This is not just about a remembral, Hermione," Darren simply told her.

His tone had silenced her, which Harry thought was quite a miracle to silence Hermione Granger if you were not a teacher. They flew up, Harry facing Adam and Darren facing Michael. The two brothers were passing the remembral between themselves. It was clear that they had to get it from both of them. Darren zoomed at Michael and knocked him off his broom. He screamed as he fell back to Earth with a thud. He screamed again. He clearly had broken something. Adam, looking taken aback, seemed to briefly forget about the remembral, which hit him on the head. He almost fell off his own broom as he fumbled for the remembral. Harry heard loud laughter from both the Gryffindors and the Slytherins below.

"Give us the remembral Adam or we'll knock you off your broom!" Harry threatened. Seeing that he was outnumbered, and that he was humiliated, Adam's face gained an ugly look.

"Catch it if you can, chaser boy!"

Adam hurled the remembral away. Harry and Darren sped towards it. Both were neck to neck and caught it at the same time. Realising they were holding hands, they quickly dropped it.

"HARRY POTTER! DARREN EAGO!"

McGonagall had arrived on the scene, and she did not look happy at all. After getting a hold of herself, she told them to follow her, much to the protests of the other Gryffindors.

As they followed her, Harry wondered what he was going to tell his parents that he was the first Potter to be expelled from Hogwarts. To his surprise, however, after McGonagall had asked for a boy named Wood from Professor Quirrell's class, that she was not going to expel them, but rather offered to make one of them a seeker. Since only one could become a seeker, however, the other one would have to do a detention. Either way it was the best they could have hoped for.

"Seeker?" Ron exclaimed incredulously.

"Yeah," Darren replied as he calmly ate his dinner.

Ron was looking at the two in a completely different light.

"But that would make either of you the youngest Seeker-"

"Since Lucas Cessi, I know!" Said Harry, "Oliver Wood got very excited about it. He seems to think that we're the next Lucas Cessi."

"Maybe you are!"

Harry laughed, but Darren laughed even harder.

"Oh please!" He said, "I can't speak for Harry, but I don't think I could ever compare to Lucas Cessi! His was a talent you only ever saw once!"

"I didn't know you were a big Cessi worshipper," Harry remarked.

"I just recognise unique talent," Darren explained.

Adam and Michael came up to them. The latter had his arm in a sling.

"You two are looking unusually cheerful," Adam remarked.

"Packed up to leave Hogwarts yet?" Michael asked.

Harry and Darren ignored them.

"How about a rematch?" Adam offered Harry, "A Wizard's Duel in the Trophy Room at midnight. Michael can be my second and Darren can be yours. How about it?"

Darren faced him and sat back casually in his chair.

"Adam, we don't need to stupidly risk getting into trouble just to prove we're better wizards."

"What's the matter? Chicken?" Adam accused.

Darren turned back to his food. Adam started doing loud chicken impressions. Whereas Darren calmly ignored him, his imitation enraged Harry.

"Hey shut up!" He shouted, standing up at facing Adam, looking into his grinning, mischievous face.

"We'll do it," Harry told him.

"Harry, don't give in to his taunts," Darren told him.

But Harry was adamant. He did not liked being called a chicken, and he wanted to teach Adam a lesson.

"Yes, Harry, listen to your boyfriend," Adam mocked.

At this, Harry and Darren both went red.

"Boyfriend?" Harry cried, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, forgive us if we're mistaken," Michael said, "But you were holding hands earlier today, weren't you?"

The two Eago brothers roared with laughter. Harry and Darren went even redder. Harry noticed that even Ron was struggling not to laugh.

"If Darren won't be Harry's second," Ron now spoke up, "Then I'll be it!"

"Ron, don't get yourself dragged into this as well!" Darren told him.

"Then it's settled!" Adam said, "The Trophy Room. Midnight. Be there."

With that, the two Eago brothers left.

"Harry you shouldn't have agreed to that! I know my brothers! It's likely that they'll set some sort of trap for you!"

"Well I'm sure we'll be prepared for it now that you've told us," Ron said, "I don't understand why you didn't agree to it. You didn't have any problems breaking school rules earlier today!"

"That's because I did it for Neville. It's different when it just concerns me."

"Neville doesn't even like you!" Ron exclaimed, "Every time he sees you he goes pale and try to step out of your way! Why would you risk your time at Hogwarts for someone like that?"

Darren didn't answer.

"I suppose I can't convince you two to reconsider about going to the Trophy Room?" He asked them.

"No. We can't anyway; we'd said we'd go, didn't we?" Harry rationalised, "If we didn't then Adam and Michael would probably think we were too scared."

"Or that the two of you have more brains than they think," Darren answered.

"I'll have to agree with Darren there."

Hermione Granger had joined the conversation.

"Excuse me, who said you could butt into a private conversation?" Ron snapped.

"But you mustn't break school rules again, Harry! Do you want to be expelled?"

Harry and Ron just ignored her.

* * *

After they were sure that everyone in their dormitory were asleep, Harry and Ron got up and tried to sneak out.

"I'll bring the invisibility cloak Dad gave me," Harry whispered, "If we hide under this, then no one should be able to see us. I'll also get that map of Hogwarts so we'll know who's where."

"So I see you're really going to go through with it then?"

Harry and Ron spun around to see Darren sitting up in his bed.

"Darren! We thought you were asleep!" Cried Harry.

"I couldn't soundly sleep thinking you two were off to get expelled."

He got out of bed.

"Darren, go back to bed!" Ron urged, "This doesn't concern you!"

"How can it not concern me when my two friends are about to walk into a trap?"

"Gonna try and stop us, are you?" Ron asked him.

Darren laughed.

"I don't think I can take on the both of you, nor do I want to. I'm going to give you the chance to reconsider until you pass the door of the common room."

"Darren, we've already told you, we're going to go through this and you can't change our minds!" Harry told him.

Darren sighed. He followed the two as they walked down to the common room. There they found Hermione, who was also trying to talk them out of the duel, although a bit more forcefully than Darren did, but they ignored her.

"So you're still going to go through with this?" Darren asked them.

"Yep," Harry answered.

"And nothing I can do will change your mind?"

"Nope," Answered Ron.

By the time he said this, the group realised that they had already walked outside of the common room, and the entrance had been shut and the Fat Lady was nowhere to be found.

"Well then," Said Darren, "I guess we'll have to come along."

They saw Neville curled up sleeping by the door. He woke up.

"Oh, hello there," he greeted, "I couldn't remember the password so I-"

He stopped when he caught sight of Darren, and went pale like he always did seeing him, as if he was about to turn him into a toad.

"Oh grow up, Neville," Ron told him, "This guy stood up for you after his brothers got you into trouble!"

"He did? Oh" he looked surprised, "Well, thank you."

"No problem," Darren smiled.

The five went on their way, hiding under the cloak. When they got to the Trophy Room, however, Adam and Michael were nowhere to be found. Even worse, they heard Filch running towards the room.

"Oh no! It's a trap!" Darren cried, "Oh if only someone had seen this coming-"

"Shut up, Darren," Ron snapped, "You can have a go at us when we've escaped Filch!"

"He's got a point, you know!" Said Hermione as they were running, "It was pretty obvious that this is what they were planning all along-"

"You shut up too!" Ron snapped.

As they ran through the hallway, at one point they seemed sure that they had lost Filch. As they were resting up against what they thought was a wall, Neville had accidentally turned the knob and the five tumbled through the door into an unknown room. When getting up, Harry saw that it was one of the classrooms. In the centre was a strange sight. It was a large mirror. The five some walked towards it. At the top there was some sort of inscription.

"What do you suppose it means?" Said Hermione.

"Maybe it's some form of ancient language?" Ron suggested.

Harry moved towards the mirror. At first, he only saw his own reflection. When he got closer, however, the image changed. Harry gasped.

"What is it?" Darren asked.

"It's-It's me!" Harry cried.

"Well of course it is," Hermione said in a very matter-of-fact-tone, "What else is a mirror supposed to show you?"

"No, I don't mean 'me' me! It's me-but older, much older."

"Eh?"

At least Harry swore that the figure now standing in front of him was him. The wizard as ancient as Dumbledore had Harry's glasses, his nose, his bright green eyes and his thin face. He had a long beard and hair as long as Dumbledore, and although ancient, looked just as powerful as Dumbledore as well. It was an amazing sight, to see himself so wise and powerful.

"I look like Dumbledore," he explained as best as he could.

"Huh?" Neville said.

"Hey Harry," Ron said, "Let me see."

Harry looked at his friend. He did not want to turn away from this brilliant sight of himself.

"Come on, just a minute."

Eventually, reluctantly, Harry stepped away. Ron now stood in front of the mirror.

"Whoa!" He cried.

"What?" Said Hermione.

"That's-that's me!" Ron exclaimed, "Except I'm older."

"Does it show you to be an old man?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron answered, "It looks like I'm in Seventh Year. I've got a prefect badge, and the Quidditch Captain badge! I'm holding the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup!"

He tore his eyes away from the mirror to look at Harry.

"Do you think it shows the future?"

"Probably," Answered Harry.

Hermione and Darren however looked sceptical.

"But why would it show different points of your lives?" She pointed out.

"Dunno," Ron answered, "Who cares?"

"I think I'd like to check out this mirror."

Ron reluctantly stepped aside so that Hermione could see.

"Holy Cricket!" She gasped.

"Holy Cricket?" Harry heard Darren mutter, "What kind of blasphemy is that?"

"I look like the same age as McGonagall! I've got my hair tied up in a bun just like her, and I'm wearing the exact same glasses! I've got a few books under my arm!"

"Why don't you have a go, Neville?" Harry suggested.

Now Neville stood in front of the mirror. He had the same expression as Hermione.

"What do you see, Neville?" Ron asked.

"I'm-I'm older! I look like an Auror!"

"You're turn, Darren."

Darren now stood in front of the mirror. He stared at his reflection.

"What do you see, Darren?" Harry asked.

"How old do you look?" Ron asked.

"I'm-I'm," Darren stuttered. He didn't say anything else. Whatever it was, it was either too brilliant to put in words, or too personal to speak of.

"Hey Darren, if you're not going to tell us then move aside! I want to have another look."

Darren stared at him with the same bestial expression he gave his brothers earlier that day.

"Not a chance!"

"Come on Darren, don't be so greedy. I want to have another look too!"

"No way! I want to have another look again!" Hermione cried.

Suddenly all of them were pushing each other, trying to have a better look at the mirror. They made so much commotion that they almost knocked the mirror over, which seemed to catch the attention of Filch.

"Run!" Whispered Harry.

They all managed to get away and back to their dormitory. Nobody said a word as they walked back. Along the way, Harry wondered what Darren saw, and why he wouldn't tell anyone.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, everyone acted as if nothing had happened. Harry noticed Darren doodling something. It looked a lot like the same language carved on the mirror they found last night.

Later that afternoon, Darren went missing. When he didn't show up at dinner, Harry and Ron were getting worried. Harry wondered if something had happened to him, whether some of the students or even his brothers got the jump on him.

However, Harry noticed that most of the students left Darren alone now. It was either because word had spread about Darren's confrontation with his brothers, so no one was going to risk upsetting him, or everyone had heard his bellowing that day. Harry also had a feeling that another reason that his fellow Gryffindor First Years no longer hassled him was how he stood up for Neville. Well, to be fair the only one who had expressed any hostility towards him was Seamus. When it was time to go to bed, he was still missing. Ron seemed unconcerned, thinking that he'll turn up sooner or later.

Harry woke up later in the night. He noticed that his bed was empty. He clearly hadn't slept in it. That was it for Harry. Something must have happened to him. Though he was a capable wizard to look after himself. But if no one had done anything to him, then where would he be so that he'd miss dinner and bed? And that's when it occurred to Harry. Getting out of bed, Harry took out the invisibility cloak and put it on with the hood up. He'd hoped that the Fat Lady would still be in when he came back.

When he found Darren in the room with the strange mirror, Harry felt relieved. He was sitting cross-legged in front of it.

"There you are!" Harry gasped, taking off the cloak, "I was getting worried sick about you!"

Darren turned around.

"Oh. Hello Harry."

Harry saw that there were large bags beneath his eyes, which were blood shot.

"How long have you been staring at that thing?"

Darren thought about it.

"To be honest, I don't know how long. I've lost track of time. I worked it out by the way."

"Worked what out?"

"What the writing at the top means. This mirror doesn't show the future."

"What are you talking about? It showed all of us our future selves!"

"Not all of us. It doesn't show your future selves. It shows your heart's desire."

"Our-what?"

Darren tossed in front of Harry the piece of paper he was doodling on earlier.

"It's not a different language," he explained and as he waved his wand, the letters rose from the paper, "If you re-arrange the letters and separate them in different places, you'd get 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'.

"You want to become a great wizard, so you see yourself looking like Dumbledore. Ron has always been overshadowed by his brothers, so he sees himself greater than any of them. Hermione wants to be the best witch she can be, so she sees herself looking like McGonagall, and Neville wishes to be an auror, like his parents."

"And what about you? What do you see?"

Darren smiled as he looked back at the mirror.

"I see myself as I am now, except I am surrounded by a whole crowd of people. No one is being hostile to me, they're all happy that I'm there. My friends are here too. I can't see my family in the mirror."

There was silence.

"Look, Darren," Harry began, walking towards him, "I can understand that you want to be liked. You know, you don't have to look at this mirror you're whole life."

"Why bother? No one will ever like me. I am an Eago, and that will never change. People will only ever see my grandfather, not me. But here, I can look at this mirror forever. Nothing else matters."

There was silence

"You don't know what it's like," He said, "Not to be loved by anyone. To be hated and feared by everyone."

Harry saw that Darren's hand had tightened into a shaking fist.

"You don't-you don't-"

He turned around to look at Harry with his tearful face.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE SO ALONE!"

Harry thought about what he just said.

"Yes I do."

Darren looked stunned.

"What? Bu-but Harry, you're the most popular person in the world! Everyone likes you!"

"Yeah, but most of them don't really know me. Do you really think that everyone who says hi to me or who come at my birthday parties really know me?"

Harry shook his head.

"All they see is the Boy-Who-Lived, not Harry. The only people who are close to me, who really know me, are my family, Ron, and you."

Darren stared at him.

"Harry…"

"Let's get away from here. It's no good dwelling on dreams and forgetting to live."

Slowly and reluctantly, Darren turned away from the mirror and got up. Harry took his arm and helped him up. He led Darren out of the room like he was a wounded soldier.

"You know," Darren said, "I didn't realise how hungry I felt until now. Did I miss dinner or something?"

Harry could not help but laugh, though Darren didn't seem to care. When they had got to the door, Harry stopped. He looked around.

"What is it?" Darren asked.

Harry scanned the room.

"Nothing," He said, "Probably just my imagination."

Although they seemed to be the only two people in the room, Harry could have sworn that there was someone else.


	8. The Philosopher's Stone

**I do not own Harry Potter or anything related. God I hate having to say this over and over! Is there really any point? I mean things on Youtube get constantly taken off no matter how much disclaiming is made!**

* * *

The rest of the school year passed peacefully. Well, apart from a few occasions. The first was during Halloween, when a troll got loose and Harry, Darren and Ron had to save Hermione Granger from it. Well, to be fair Darren did most of the saving. The moment everyone was deciding what to do, Darren whipped out his wand, cried 'Wingardiem Leviosa!' and caused the troll's club to rise from his hand and come crashing down on it's head, knocking it out.

"Oh Darren!" Hermione cried, running to him and throwing herself in his arms.

"Hey, we helped too!" Ron protested indignantly.

To be fair, Harry thought, Darren did everything. He and Ron just stood there helplessly. Darren had gone red.

"Take it easy, Hermione," He tried to reassure her, patting her on the back, "It's over now."

Ever since then, Hermione Granger had become their friend.

A couple of weeks later came the first Quidditch match with Gryffindor against Slytherin. Harry had won the place as Gryffindor Seeker, though he felt only by a margin. He and Darren were roughly equal against each other during the tryouts that Wood put them through. At the end of the day, he chose Harry, and seemed to lose any interest in Darren. This just made Harry angry. He wondered whether he was chosen just because he was the famous Harry Potter, and Darren not chosen because he was the grandson of Eago.

"Oh Eago!" Wood called sometime after naming Harry as Seeker. Darren turned to look at him.

"I heard how you stood up for that Neville Longbottom kid a couple of weeks back. And just- well-just wanted to say that was good of you."

Harry smiled. Opinion of Darren had definitely improved within Gryffindor. Harry also noticed Darren smiling as well. He was certainly looking happier than he had ever seen him.

When the match began, Harry was horrified to learn that the Slytherin Seeker's name was Natos Loki, as in Professor Loki's son. Apparently Wood didn't think too much of telling him this, but it meant that if he won, Loki would be crueller to him during lessons. This made Harry gulp. However this did not stop him from playing his best, and the match went better than he expected. Apart from his broomstick shaking out of control, that was, and almost knocking him off. After the match, Ron, Hermione and Darren had told him that they saw Loki performing some sort of hex on Harry's broom. They shared their suspicions with Hagrid, whom Harry had patched things up with months before. However, Hagrid did not take their suspicions seriously, thinking that Loki would never try to harm a student, and asked why he would try to kill Harry. Hermione pointed out that Loki always picked on Harry during their lessons, but Hagrid didn't see that as resulting in Loki wanting to kill him. Ron suggested that he was trying to help Slytherin win, and reminded everyone that his son was playing on the team. Harry however thought there was a much more sinister motive. He told everyone how before the match, he had gone to see Loki to get 'Qudditch Throughout the Ages' back, being confiscated because apparently library books aren't allowed on castle grounds. When he went into his office, he saw Filch tending to a large wound on Loki's right leg, the latter complaining about how someone's supposed to watch the dog when it has three heads. At the mentioning of the dog, Harry noticed a reaction in Hagrid.

"Did you know what he was talking about then?" Harry asked.

"Well, it sounds like he was describing Fluffy."

Harry tried to picture a large three headed dog being named Fluffy.

"Who's Fluffy?" Darren asked.

"Oh he's a Hellhound we've got on guard in the restricted section of the school."

From the looks of Hagrid, it suggested that he'd just said something he should not have said.

"I shouldn't have said tha'," He said.

"What's the Hellhound guarding?" Harry asked.

But Hagrid refused to give away any more details, and said it was between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flammel. It could be seen from Hagrid's expression that he had yet again revealed information that he should not have done, and left them muttering, "Shouldn't have said tha'."

"Who's Nicholas Flammel?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied, "The name does sound familiar."

"None of you know who Nicholas Flammel is?"

Darren sounded incredulous.

"All right then, clever clogs," Snapped Hermione, "Who is Nicholas Flammel?"

"He's a famed alchemist! He's the creator of the Philosopher's Stone!"

Hermione gasped.

"I thought it was something like that!" She exclaimed.

"The what?" Ron and Harry both said simultaneously.

Darren and Hermione stared at them.

"It's a stone that can turn metal into gold and can create a elixir of immortality," Darren told them.

"Wow!" Cried Ron.

"Maybe that's what Fluffy's guarding?" reasoned Harry.

"Yeah, makes sense!" Said Ron, "Who wouldn't want something that can create gold or make you immortal!"

"Oh I don't know, I wouldn't want any of it."

Everyone stared at Darren.

"Are you mad?" Said Ron, "Why wouldn't you want unlimited wealth and to live forever?"

"Well, I've never really sought great wealth, I'm just happy to be moderately wealthy. As for being immortal, where's the fun in outliving your loved ones?"

* * *

Later that day, the foursome went to Hagrid's hut to confirm their suspicions. Seeing as they knew of the stone, Hagrid reluctantly told them a few more details, such as which teachers have added protections, and that Fluffy's his. Knowing that Hagrid would never reveal how to get past Fluffy, the foursome felt relieved that Loki would not get to the stone.

A month later, it was Christmas break, and Harry was getting excited about packing up to go home. Darren, unfortunately, was staying at Hogwarts. He said that he told his parents that he was planning to do some extra study. Harry however suspected that it was because he didn't want to go home. Harry felt really sorry for his friend, but he was glad that Ron was going to be with him. His parents were off to Romania to see his brother Charlie, so all the Weasley children at Hogwarts were staying for Christmas. But Harry felt really happy as he got on the train. He couldn't wait to get home, as much as he liked Hogwarts and the people there. Well, some of them that is. He could live without Michael and Adam or Loki or any of the Slytherins, as well as Filch and his cat Mrs Norris. But he felt glad anyway to get away from school and have a two week break in familiar surroundings. He did miss his family, his parents, his brother and sister, Addie and the cat. Harry shared a compartment with Hermione. Harry didn't realised how much he missed his family though, and how incomplete he felt until they got to the station. He had forgotten how separated he felt when he first went to Hogwarts for the first time. He saw them instantly when he got off the train.

"Harry!"

His little brother and sister ran to him and hugged him.

"Hey guys! Missed me?"

He ruffled their hair. He later hugged his mum and dad. They left the station via the ministry cars.

It felt good to be home. It was like being at work all day before coming home to a warm bath. Here Harry seemed to forget all the troubles at school, about the homework, about the Eago brothers, about Quidditch, about Loki and the Philosopher's Stone. He wouldn't have to worry about any of that for the next two weeks.

However, that didn't stop him from telling his siblings all about Hogwarts. He even told them about how he and his friends faced the troll, although he may have somewhat exaggerated about what happened.

When the break ended, it felt like it ended too soon. Leaving his family on the platform felt like September 1st all over again. Harry's only comfort was that he would be home again in seven months time. However it felt good to be reunited with all of his friends. Apparently Darren and Ron and the others had a good time at the castle.

A few months later, Harry was feeling particularly miserable and ashamed. He felt it was best to write a letter to his family before the school had a chance to send something, hoping to explain himself. He didn't want his parents to be upset with him.

"_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_A few weeks ago, we discovered that Hagrid was trying to take care of a baby dragon. However he was having difficulty raising it, especially when it got bigger. We did our best to help him, but then we decided that it was best that he'd be sent to Romania with the other dragons. We arranged to meet up with Charlie Weasley at the Astronomy Tower at midnight, and although we were able to give him Norbert (That's the name of the dragon Hagrid gave him), we were later caught. McGonagall was furious that we were up and about during the night, and in a restricted section of the school. What's more, Darren's brothers told McGonagall about the dragons, but she thought we'd made it up just to get them and Neville Longbottom into trouble. So she took away fifty points from each of us and gave us detentions._

_Please don't tell the teachers what I've told you. We were only trying to help, and I don't want anyone else to get into trouble because of me._

_Love, Harry xx"_

Harry dreaded as to what their response would be.

The next day, Harry got this response:

"_Harry,_

_Let us assure you that we are not angry with you. However what you did was entirely unnecessary. You should have gone just to Dumbledore, he would have made arrangements for Norbert to be taken away without punishing Hagrid. Reluctantly we will respect your wishes not to tell Dumbledore what you've told us. However we think you should._

_Love from Mum and Dad xxx"_

Within the envelope, Harry found a slip of paper:

"P.S., I am however disappointed that you didn't use the invisibility cloak and marauders' map I gave you to the fullest extent so that no one could see you and you would know where they were!"

Harry could not help but laugh. What his dad wrote (And clearly without his mum knowing) made him feel better.

However, that feeling was soon extinguished later in the day. The one who seemed most devastated was Darren. This Harry found surprising, since he thought he would be used to being disliked. Harry guessed that it was because he had grown fond of how opinion in Gryffindor had turned in favour to him, only to go to back to what it was at the beginning of the year.

A week later, it was their detention. Ron wasn't there because he was stuck in the Hospital wing when they were off getting rid of Norbert. Joining them were Neville, Adam and Michael, who had also been caught out of bed. They were being taken by Hagrid into the forbidden forest.

"Oh yeah, Harry. Before we go in, I'd advise yeh to keep yeh scar hidden."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Their task was to find a wounded unicorn. On the way they met centaurs, who were greatly cold towards them. Eventually they were split into groups, with Harry with Adam and Fang. Later they found the unicorn, dead and a hooded figure drinking its blood. Fang ran for it. Seeing the two boys, the hooded figure glided towards them. Just then a centaur galloped out of nowhere and chased the figure away.

"Are you all right?" The centaur asked. Harry and Adam nodded. Two more centaurs came galloping onto the scene.

"What happened? Who is that boy, Firenze?"

"No one," the centaur replied, "Just a student from Hogwarts."

The other two centaurs were staring at Harry. Their eyes were full of rage.

"What is that on his forehead?" One of them demanded, "Are you Harry Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry realised that his scar was visible. Bane drew an arrow.

"No Bane!" the centaur named Firenze cried, stepping in front of Harry.

"You traitor!" Bane roared, "How dare you protect the boy who defeated Cain Eago, the one who deprived him of his powers, the reason why our dreams were never fulfilled and why we have suffered even worse before he came to us!"

"And what is to be gained from his death?" Firenze challenged, "Don't you think it would be a little suspicious if the Boy-Who-Lived disappeared in the forest where some of his greatest haters reside? What do you think the Ministry will do? They will use it as an excuse to imprison us centaurs- even kill us."

"Firenze is right, Bane," the centaur next to Bane replied.

"I am chief of the centaurs in this forest, Magorian, not you!" Bane retorted, "Did I not receive mandate from him? Do I not have the right to decide what?"

"Yes, but what good will it do us if your followers are to be taken away or slaughtered?" Magorian rationalised.

Bane considered this.

"But it does not change the fact that you stop him from killing the boy! He will have your head for this!"

"I did not realise that it was Harry Potter before I saved him, nor did I realise that it was him who was threatening him."

The chief centaur did not look convinced.

"Now then," Firenze continued, "I think it's best that I try to reunite Harry Potter with his human companions. If anything was to happen to him, it would look very suspicious."

Before Bane could protest, Firenze had already turned away, picked up Harry and Adam and placed them on his horse back in spite of angry roars from his fellow centaurs and galloped away.

"I must apologise for my kind's behaviour," Firenze told Harry after they had left Bane and Magorian for a while, "You are not very popular among the centaurs."

This Harry felt to be inconceivable. After growing up with virtually everyone admiring him, it was quite unsettling to see his name and scar angry someone like that. It rivalled that look that Professor Loki always gave him.

"But why do they hate me so much?" Harry asked.

"For centuries the centaurs have roamed the forests without any dispute from any other race. We thrived across the landmass you humans call Europe. It is even hard to imagine that there was a time we even co-existed with the wizards. Of course they relied on the resources the forest contains as they do now, but they always received them on our terms. Then the Ministry was established, the wizards became organised, and hungering for power it sought rule not only over all wizards and witches but the entire magical world as well."

"Don't you mean 'Wizarding World'?" Harry asked.

"Wizarding World," Firenze scoffed, "A term itself that expresses wizarding arrogance, that all magical lands and creatures belong to the wizards. The Ministry infiltrated our forests, intending to acquire control over its resources for itself, pushing us centaurs back into lands that were of no use to it. We tried to fight back, but we were no match for the power of the wizards and witches. That is not to say that we don't know any magic," Firenze quickly added, "We are adept in the ancient art you call 'Divination' and a few of us have been gifted with magic, some whose power rivalled, even excelled, those of wizards and witches. But generally we've never relied on magic, and that has been our downfall.

"Since the rise of the Ministry, our kind have been crowded, poor, and regulated. In time the wizards and witches saw themselves as the supreme race, viewing our kind as inferior. Half-breeds and beasts they call us. And what are the concerns of animals to Wizarding folk? It's true that we ourselves wished to be 'classified' as beasts, but that was only because we wished to hold on to our traditions and independence, for 'being' meant to be assimilated into a society we wanted no part in.

"Then there came a man to us. A man who saw us as equals and understood our plight, who sought to unite our kind against the Wizarding World and with the end of the Ministries, of all Ministries of magic, our kind could reclaim the forests that are rightfully ours. His name is Cain Eago."

Harry could have sworn that his heart had skipped a beat. He could not believe what Firenze had told him. He had always pictured Eago as a dark wizard; a cruel dictator who did not cared about anyone but himself unless he had something to gain. Yet Firenze was describing him as some kind of second Dumbledore.

"And so we willingly followed him in his battle with the Ministry. But then of course he tracked you down, and for whatever reason tried to kill you, and lost his powers there. With Eago defeated, our resistance fell apart, and we suffered the consequences of following him. Our lands were further restricted by the ministry, our numbers more regulated and controlled, and so we suffer, far more than we have ever done before."

Harry tried to rationalise why Eago offered them freedom. He refused to believe that he had done it out of the kindness of his own heart.

"He-he was just using you!" Harry shouted, "He was playing on your desires just so you would follow him!"

"DO NOT PRETEND THAT YOU KNOW CAIN EAGO!" Firenze roared. "He was a noble man! Before him we would not have believed that any human could have cared about the centaurs like he did! He was a compassionate man. He saw our kind being oppressed by the Ministry and sought to relieve us of our burdens!"

"He was a dark wizard! Everyone knows that!"

"And who is it who defines who is a dark wizard and who isn't? Who defines what are the dark arts and what aren't? The ministry, that's who! Do you really think that 'dark wizard' is a title that Eago bestowed upon himself? It was not. It was a description given to him by his enemies!"

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't felt so bewildered since learning that Eago was sorted in Gryffindor, and not Slytherin as he had always believed.

"If Eago was such a great guy," Harry asked, "Then why did you save me? Why did you stop that thing-?"

Everything that the centaurs had said previously was coming together. Firenze referred to Eago in the present tense.

"No. That thing- that person who attacked me- he can't be-?"

Firenze nodded.

"Cain Eago had survived the attack that backfired on him. He took refuge among the Centaurs, which we gladly gave him these past ten years. But my kind have dishonoured ourselves by handing him unicorns to feast on. Did you know, Harry Potter, that to slay a unicorn is the most horrendous act anyone can commit? But now he has his eyes on something greater, something that will restore his body and his powers."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Do you know what is being guarded right now at the castle?" Firenze asked.

Harry gasped.

"The Philosopher's-"

"Harry!"

Harry saw Hagrid and others running to them.

"I'll take my leave, Harry Potter."

Firenze let Harry and Adam off his back.

"I pray for your safety. I really do."

And so he galloped away.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Darren asked.

"I'll tell you later," Harry muttered.

* * *

When they had returned to the common room and met up with Ron, Harry began to tell them what had happened in the forest.

"It was Eago. Eago tried to kill me."

"What?" Darren asked.

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Asked Ron.

"It's exactly like I said! Eago tried to kill me in the forest!"

"But Harry." Hermione tried to reason, "Eago's dead. Everyone knows that!"

"I'm telling you it was him!"

"Did you actually see this creature's face?" Hermione asked.

"Well-no, but Firenze said it was him! He said that he survived the attack ten years ago and has been living with the centaurs since!"

"Yeah, but the centaurs were loyal supporters of Eago, weren't they?" Ron pointed out, "They'll probably say that he never died and is still out there biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike!"

"I don't know. I've always had the feeling that Eago was still out there." Darren said.

Ron and Hermione looked at him.

"What if we're wrong? What if Loki doesn't want the stone for himself? What if he's trying to get the stone for Eago?"

A resurrected Eago frightened Harry. However it also made him think of what Firenze had told him.

"Harry, what is it?"

Darren had clearly noticed Harry's worried expression.

"Firenze- told me unsettling things about the war. That the ministry has always been trying to restrict their land and regulate their numbers, and that Eago was trying to help him."

"Yeah well the centaurs would say anything bad about the ministry wouldn't they?" Ron reasoned, "And try to depict Eago as the good guy!"

"I don't know, Ron. It's true that the ministry has done those things in the name of the benefit of wizardkind and seeing the centaurs as nothing more than subhuman."

Ron stared at him.

"I know what you're thinking Ron. You think that just because I'm Eago's grandson that naturally I'm going to argue in favour of the centaurs. Well Dumbledore felt the same way, the difference is he wasn't going to kill people to achieve his ends!"

Harry had never felt so disoriented. He had always seen the Ministry as good. A bit flawed, perhaps, but on the whole on the side of good! Darren looked at him as if he knew what he was thinking.

"No human is either good or evil, Harry. We're a mixture of the two, that's what makes us humans, and not angels or demons. The Ministry has done good as well as evil. Okay, I admit it's gotten corrupt in recent years."

For the first time since he had known him, Harry saw Darren in a very different light. He seemed much older than any of them, very old in a number of years.

"Then, do you think that Eago was right?"

"I believe his ends were noble, but his means weren't."

Ron scoffed at this.

"I think Darren's right, Ron," Hermione eventually said, "Eago definitely had the right ideas. It was just his methods that were wrong. Well anyway, even if he is back, you're all forgetting that as long as Dumbledore's here, nothing bad can happen to the stone!"


	9. Through the Trapdoor

**I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.**

* * *

Sadly though Hermione was wrong. Harry soon realised that it was either Eago or Loki who gave Hagrid the dragon egg, and later questioned him if the stranger who gave him the egg was interested in Fluffy. Hagrid said he was, but rationalised that anyone would be interested in a gigantic three-headed dog, and also mentioned that after a few drinks, to keep him under control, all you needed was to play him some music. It was then Harry and his friends realised that Loki now knew how to get past Fluffy. They tried to find Dumbledore, but had no idea where his office was. They later ran into Professor McGonagall, who told them that Dumbledore had left the castle. They tried to tell McGonagall that someone was after the Philosopher's Stone, without saying who it was. Although McGonagall was shocked that they knew about the Philosopher's Stone, she did not take their concerns seriously, and told them to enjoy the sun. Now understanding that they were on their own, Harry decided to take it upon himself to stop Loki from acquiring the stone and reviving Eago. What he was not counting on, however, was that his friends would want to join him, and he could not dissuade them.

Later that night, the foursome set off to the room that Fluffy guarded (Along the way, Hermione petrified Neville, who tried to stop them). Harry took out his dad's map, deciding that it should be useful in determining where everyone is, and more importantly, how far Loki and Eago are to the stone. He unfolded it.

"Where about is Loki now?" Ron asked.

Harry scanned the map for Loki's dot.

"He's still in his room next to the Potions classroom! We can still get there before he does!"

As they started to run, a horrible thought now occurred to Harry. Where was the stone being kept? Harry knew that it was in the west wing of the castle, but whereabouts? His look of horror was clearly visible, for Darren said, "Look for Fluffy."

Of course! Harry scanned the map of the West Wing for Fluffy, and there he was! According to the map, there was a room beneath where Fluffy was being kept, and five successive rooms linking it.

"The Philosopher's Stone has to be in the furthest room!" Harry pointed to his friends, "That makes the most sense! Let's go!"

As they journeyed to the West Wing, hidden by the invisibility cloak, Harry kept glancing at Loki's spot, which remained fixed in his room. He also looked out for any passers by, and they managed to avoid things like Filch and Mrs Norris and Peeves the poltergeist. Loki remaining in his room made Harry glad, thinking that they can probably get to the stone before he does, and avoid trying to fight a full-grown wizard. As they got closer to the West Wing, Loki's fixed position was now starting to confuse Harry, the feeling getting stronger and stronger as they got closer towards their goal. By the time they had reached the wing, and Loki still hadn't moved, this was now starting to worry Harry.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Harry whispered, "I was sure that tonight would be the right opportunity to take the stone!"

"Maybe he decided to chicken out," Ron suggested.

"Or maybe we were wrong about Professor Loki altogether," suggested Hermione. It was odd to hear her call him by his title after merely referring to him as 'Loki' all year, "I mean did we really have any core evidence that he tried to kill Harry because of the stone?"

"Well he did try to kill Harry, you can't deny that," Ron told her.

Harry unfolded the map again to pinpoint Fluffy's location.

"Well okay, you may have a point. But maybe he wasn't trying to kill him because of the stone at-Harry, what's wrong?"

Hermione noticed that Harry had gone pale, as did his other friends. When he had taken a look at the chambers again that protected the stone, it felt like his heart had leapt in his rib cage and stayed at the top, beating furiously. He was so fixed on Loki's location, and any nearby obstacles, that he never thought of taking a look at the chambers to see if anyone was in there. There, in clear black ink, was a name:

Cain Eago.

He had accepted that Eago was back, but still, to see his name and dot there, to see the undeniable fact…

He was still around. He really was still around! The wizard who had tried to kill him, who had almost killed his parents and scarred his mother as well as himself! The wizard that everyone feared, and who had killed so many people, was still here! Even worse, he had already reached the fourth room to the stone! But that wasn't the most shocking thing Harry saw. It was the name next to Eago's.

Quirinus Quirrell.

"Quirrell?" Ron exclaimed, "It's Quirrell who's working for Eago? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Oh God!"

Everyone turned to look at Darren. He clearly realised something that the others hadn't.

"That wasn't a curse Loki was casting! It was a counter-curse!"

"What?"

"He wasn't trying to kill Harry! He was trying to save him! He must have realised that it was Quirrell who was casting it, so he was trying to counter it!"

"But Loki hates Harry!"

"Hating him doesn't give him a reason for wanting him dead," Darren answered, paraphrasing what Hagrid had told them after the match. Harry felt shocked. Loki was trying to save him? It was unbelievable!

"So-you-mean-?" Hermione stuttered, "That when we-when I-caught his robe on fire, we stopped him from saving Harry?"

"Good thing we knocked Quirrell over when we were rushing over to Loki," Ron remarked, "That's what must have broken the curse!"

No one looked more distressed than Hermione, who was probably guilt ridden that she had attacked an innocent teacher.

"We suspected the wrong teacher," Harry muttered, "All this time, we thought Loki was after the stone, when it was Quirrell all along!"

"Well, Loki does seem like the type," Darren pointed out, "Next to him, who would have suspected Quirrell?"

It still didn't feel right, Harry thought. Humble, mild-mannered, stuttering Professor Quirrell in league with Eago? He tried to make sense of it.

"Maybe Eago's forcing him to work for him?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah, I can imagine Quirrell being forced into something he doesn't want to do!" Ron backed up. When Harry glanced at the map again, he saw something else that surprised him.

"What is it, Harry?"

Harry whipped out his wand and pointed it to the thin air behind him.

"Harry, what did you see?" Hermione asked.

"All right, I know you're there! Come on out!"

Adam and Michael shimmered before them.

"What are you two doing here?" Ron demanded.

Hermione had gasped.

"You two can perform disillusionment charms! That's really, really advanced magic!"

Everyone looked at her.

"What, it is!"

"What are you two doing here?" Harry demanded.

"The same reason you are," Adam answered, "We're here to save the world!"

"No you're not, you're here to take the Philosopher's Stone for yourself!" Darren accused.

"Can't we do both?" Michael pointed out.

"How do you guys even know about the Philosopher's Stone?" Ron asked.

"Well I did happen to be there listening to Firenze and Harry's conversation," Adam told him.

"But I didn't mention the Philosopher's Stone!" Harry told him.

"Oh yes, I'm sure that there are plenty of artefacts in the world that begin with 'Philosopher's'!"

"Well anyway, we share the same goals, can't we tag along?"

"Fine!" Harry said, looking at the map, "We don't have time to argue, Eago's almost at the stone!"

Adam and Michael joined them under the cloak, much to the others' protests, but Harry didn't have time to argue. When they had reached the door, they went in. Harry was shocked to see how big the three-headed dog was. It was almost unreal. Harry kept the animal at bay with the flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas. With Fluffy asleep, the sextet was able to get past the trapdoor. Unfortunately Harry and Ron got stuck in what turned out to be a plant named Devil's Snare. Hermione was just in the middle of trying to think how to kill it when Darren snapped out his wand and cried 'Incendio!' at the plant. A stream of fire shot from his wand at the Devil's Snare, which writhed away from the flames and freed Harry and Ron.

"I remembered that Devil's Snare is sensitive to light and warmth," Darren explained modestly, "So I thought that it wouldn't like fire."

"Good thing Darren pays attention in class!" Harry remarked.

"Good thing he's able to keep his head in tight situations as well!" Ron added.

Hermione looked offended.

Harry looked at the map. Eago and Quirrell had barely moved from where they were. They could still catch up with them!

The next chamber contained a swarm of flying keys. The door at the other end would not open; not even 'Alohomora' could do it! The sextet guessed that only one of the flying keys could open it. After getting the right key, Harry was about to open the door to the chamber that Eago and Quirrell were in.

"Wait!" Hermione shouted.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"If Eago and Quirrell are in that next room, then what are we going to do? What can six First Year students do against a teacher and one of the most powerful dark wizards for over a hundred years?"

"Hermione, you wanted to come!" Harry snapped angrily at her, "Even after I tried to convince you not to!"

"I know," She said desperately, "But now that we're so close to them, it's got me thinking! What are we supposed to do? Besides, I never really believed that Eago was back; I thought that'd it just be Loki!"

"Well you've overlooked Hermione," Adam was telling her, "That there are three outstanding wizards among us!"

Ron chuckled.

"Well it's nice that you think Harry, Darren and Hermione are outstanding wizards-"

"I was talking about myself, Michael and Darren you idiot!" Adam snarled.

"I'm flattered that you think of me as an outstanding student, Adam," Darren grinned.

"Hey, just because I'm not fond of you, doesn't mean that I underestimate your ability-"

Harry turned back to the map. Eago and Quirrell were now leaving the chamber. He quickly put the key in the hole and turned it.

"Harry, no!" Hermione shouted, "Don't go in there!"

Harry pushed the door open, just when the door at the other end closed.

"NO!" He shouted.

They were so close to stopping Eago. He turned his attention back to the map. The next chamber contained a dot labelled 'Troll'. The Troll advanced towards Eago and Quirrell. Then it disappeared. What happened? Harry thought. Perhaps he had teleported it out of the castle?

Harry saw before them a giant chessboard. It was clear that they had to win a game of Chess. Harry now understood why it took Eago and Quirrell so long to get through this chamber, and why they barely moved. Likelihood that either one of them was playing a king. With Ron's expertise at the game, they were able to win (Although Ron was knocked unconscious by a Queen after sacrificing himself in order for them to win). Adam and Michael had been forced to play as pawns, with neither of them too pleased with their position. They both got sacrificed pretty early in the game. While they played, Harry turned his attention towards the map. Eago and Quirrell had left the chamber that had contained the troll, and were stationary in the next one. Harry noticed something peculiar. Eago and Quirrell appeared to have the same dot. Harry didn't understand that at all. Halfway through the game, they had left the chamber and entered the final one where the stone must be held. Harry's heart dropped. Had they failed? Was it all for nothing? Towards the end of the game, Eago and Quirrell were still stationary. If they had got the stone, they would have left it by now. Now a trio, they opened the next door, and had to cover their noses with their robes because of the smell. Looking inside, Harry almost vomited.

If trolls smelt bad when living, then they smelt even worse when dead.

And especially bad when fried.

The troll that had guarded the chamber, now lying on the floor, had been reduced to a blackened corpse, lying in a puddle of green ooze. Hermione was in tears.

"Which of them could have done this?" She asked.

"It was probably Cain," Darren answered, "This looks like his work."

After leaving this chamber, they arrived at one with a row of potions lying on a table with a riddle underneath, where you had to get the right one in order to proceed. Thanks to Hermione's sense of logic, she was able to deduct which one allowed someone to enter the next chamber, and which one enabled one to go back. Then they found the problem: One of them had to remain in the chamber, and there was not enough in either of the bottles for two of them.

"I'll stay behind," Darren decided.

"Darren, no-!" Harry began.

"I'll be fine," Darren insisted, "If one of you go back and send Dumbledore an owl, then I shouldn't be in here too long. Besides it's not like this place is dangerous anyway!"

"Darren-" Harry began again.

"Don't argue!"

He took the bottle that allowed someone to go to the next chamber and shoved it in Harry's hands.

"You go on to the next chamber, I know that it's meant to be you who goes in there!"

He now took the other bottle and forced it in Hermione's hands.

"And you're the most worried about Ron, so go back there and wake him up! Check on my brothers as well! The sooner you send a letter, the sooner I won't have to stay here! Now go!"

Without warning, Hermione jumped on both of them, hugging them.

"You're great wizards!" She cried, "Both of you!"

After getting her off of themselves and helping her to get a grip, Hermione drank her potion in one gulp and ran back through the entrance they came in. Harry and Darren faced each other. Darren gave him the thumbs up.

"Good luck."

Harry smiled.

"Thanks."

Harry walked towards the other exit. He was not afraid of the fire, but of the person beyond it. He took another glimpse of the map. Eago and Quirrell hadn't moved. He had never been more terrified in his life. He gulped the potion. Stuffing the map and cloak in his robe pockets and taking out his wand, Harry ran through the fire, having no idea what he would be facing on the other side.

He was not expecting Quirrell to be facing him as he ran into the next chamber. This unnerved him. Quirrell smiled.

"Hello Harry. We've been expecting you."

He was no longer the kindly, humble nervous teacher that Harry had known all year. This Quirrell seemed to be far more confident and evil. Quirrell frowned.

"You do not seem surprised to learn that it was I who was after the stone."

Quirrell chuckled.

"Surely you could have not seen through my acting!"

Harry could not believe it. He had convinced himself that Eago was forcing him to get the stone, and could imagine a sobbing and reluctant Quirrell. This Quirrell however did not seem concerned at all that he was helping an infamous dark wizard. As Harry tried to shout a spell at Quirrell, he realised that he didn't know any offensive spells. Quirrell never taught them. He thought of the only spell that could be useful in this situation.

"Wingardiem-"

Quirrell raised his hand, and Harry's wand shot out of it and into his.

"We'll have none of that, thank you."

Eago was nowhere to be seen. Harry took out the map. It didn't make any sense! According to it, Eago was right next to Quirrell, yet he was nowhere to be seen. Was he perhaps invisible?

"I'll take that," Quirrell stated as he raised his other hand and the map flew into it. He examined it.

"Oh, so this is why you were not surprised! A map of the entire school…! How did you get your hands on this? Well, it does not matter. I knew that you would try to stop me from getting the stone, and now Eago gets to kill two birds with one stone!"

He snapped his fingers, and ropes from out of nowhere tied themselves around Harry. Harry resorted to his one last hope that Quirrell was being forced into this.

"Quirrell, you don't have to do this!" He shouted, "Stand up to Eago! Don't let him have-"

He was interrupted by Quirrell's burst of laughter.

"You think that I-that I am being coerced into getting Eago the Philosopher's Stone?" He managed to say through his fits of laughter, "You think that I don't want him to be restored? That I am being forced against my own free will?"

He got a hold of himself.

"Of course you would think that. You have been led to believe that Eago is some kind of 'dark wizard', a cruel, uncaring tyrant, concerned with only gaining power by whatever means necessary, who considers his enslaved servants to be nothing more than pawns! Eago is nothing of the sort! All those who served Eago served him willingly! He saw the evil of the ministry and sought to overthrow them, and in retaliation they have made him out to be some kind of dark lord! And who would argue? Anyone who would would be considered to be a supporter, and a traitor to the wizarding world, and be locked up in Azkaban!"

Quirrell laughed again.

"It seems so long ago that I would have agreed with the Ministry!"

And so he began to tell Harry how he joined Eago.


	10. The Man Faced Bird

**It seems that every time I think I'm writing the last chapter to this story, it turns out that there's too much for one chapter. Well hopefully this is the penultimate chapter.**

**P.S. I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.**

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"I was once a naïve young man, confident in the goodness of wizards and witches and the wizarding world. I decided to explore the Forbidden Forest some time after my position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was confirmed, hoping to learn something about the dark arts there. There I was captured by the centaurs, and they brought me to Eago, who opened my eyes; that the world we live in is corrupt, full of prejudiced humans who consider themselves superior above all other races; Wizards and Witches who have exploited the compassion and selflessness of the so-called 'House Elves', who place barriers on non-human races to preserve their status, who usurp lands that do not belong to them, and drive away or kill the natives, and who view those without magical talent as stupid and subhuman. Not even within Wizarding society is there justice: There are those who are exalted and others trampled on, simply because who their parents or grandparents were! And there are those without magical talent, who are maltreated and discriminated against. Others who are shunned for an illness they have no control over, and who are not given any help. We have a corrupt government that uses dark creatures to do their will, and a press that freely spreads lies and destroys lives without any opposition! And a house of people who are clearly evil and are at the root of all this, yet their existence is tolerated!

"When I realised this, I was no longer a wizard. I was now part of a new magical order of humans, dedicated to the destruction of this corrupt wizarding society, and in its place a new order shall be established, a society of freedom and justice and righteousness and equality where the evil shall be eliminated! It is a shame that you have to die in order for this society to become a reality, Harry Potter. You are one of the few individuals free of the evil trappings of Wizarding Society. But you are a necessary sacrifice, an obstacle."

Quirrell now turned his attention towards the mirror. Getting frustrated at it, he called upon his master for guidance. A high-pitched voice that sounded a lot like the cry of an eagle told him to use the boy. Harry, helpless, was forced to look at the mirror and tell Quirrell what he saw. To his amazement, the reflection winked at him, and showed that the Philosopher's Stone was in his pocket. At that very moment he felt something round and hard materialise in that very pocket. Quirrell demanded to know what Harry saw, who told him that he saw himself holding the Quidditch Cup. Frustrated, Quirrell pushed Harry out of the way. Harry considered whether to stay put or risk it and get out of here.

He decided to run.

"_Stop him!_" The same disembodied high-pitched voice he had heard earlier cried.

"STOP, POTTER!" Quirrell shouted.

Harry ran for the flame filled doorway. He backed away after the flames burnt him. Oh no! He thought. The effect of the potion must have worn off! Harry turned to look at Quirrell, who was walking threateningly towards him.

"That was foolish of you, Potter, very foolish," He told him. He had a murderous glance in his eyes. He raised his hand.

"Harry! Duck!" A hoarse voice behind him whispered.

Harry did as he was told, and as he fell to the steps he heard a spell whoosh through the air. Quirrell gave a surprised yelp as Harry heard him to have lost his footing on the stairs and tumble down. As Harry got up, he saw the still moving, large green bubbly jinx fly through the air and burst on the wall. Darren had missed Quirrell. Seemingly still, Quirrell managed to get up, looking more outraged than ever. He pointed his hand at the doorway and a lightning bolt shot from it.

"DARREN!" Harry screamed. He turned back to look at the fiery doorway. There was no answer.

"DARREN, TALK TO ME!"

There was still no answer.

"DARREN, PLEASE!"

"He can't hear you, Harry. Your friend is dead."

Harry turned to look at Quirrell.

"No," He shook his head. He didn't care that he was crying. Quirrell just smiled. He advanced forward.

"Did you really think that a handful of first years could challenge a Hogwarts professor and the most powerful sorcerer who ever-"

Quirrell halted. He seemed to be looking at something above Harry. His eyes were wide and full of fear, and his mouth was partly open. A jet of red light hit him squarely in the chest. It sent in flying across the hall, his robes billowing in his wake. Quirrell smashed into the mirror.

"_NO!_" The same high voice cried, and as Quirrell fell to the ground as if in slow motion, it shrieked, "_CURSE YOU, DUMBLEDORE!_"

Something white and wispy rose from Quirrell's motionless body, like a soul leaving the body. It flew in Harry's direction. The sudden pain in his scar caused Harry to fall backwards. Despite the pain, he could still see the apparition. The steam seemed to have taken on the form of a bird. As it passed his shoulder, the ghostly bird turned its head to look at Harry. Harry screamed.

It had a human face.

And yet it was unlike any human face that Harry had ever seen. There was a great bulge in the centre that curved from his head and was pointed at the end that reminded Harry of an eagle's beak. It even had nostrils that resembled a bird's. Its eyes were yellow and hawk-like, the only things that had colour against the white, partly transparent body. As Harry looked around to see the ghostly bird fly away, he saw Professor Dumbledore standing in the archway, the flames gone. After the bird disappeared, he heard two screams, one boy and one girl.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry cried, "You're here!"

"So it seems," He replied.

"Then, you got Hermione's message-?"

Wait, Harry thought. Hermione couldn't have sent it this soon…

"We crossed paths," Dumbledore explained, "I was halfway to London when it occurred to me that I should be here."

He now walked towards the mirror.

"Dear me," Dumbledore muttered, staring at the shards of glass on the floor, "He's not going to be happy with me. I promised him to bring back the Mirror of Erised in one piece."

He spoke as if he was a school child who was in trouble.

"Just as well that I didn't use the unbreakable oath, isn't it? Oh well, let's see what I can do."

He waved his wand, and the glass shards flew up back into the frame, the cracks disappearing, as if they were never there.

"Damn. The charm no longer works. Just as well, I guess. Still he's not going to be happy. Oh do pardon my French, Harry. I would never hear the end of it from McGonagall if I showed a bad example to the students."

He bent down to check on Quirrell.

"Quirrell, is he-?"

"Dead, I'm afraid. But not from my spell. It was a simple stunning charm. A bit more powerful than usual, I'll admit, but a stun nonetheless. It seems that when Eago left his body, Quirrell instantly died."

"Eago? That thing was-?"

"Yes."

It was then that a thought occurred to Harry that he should have responded to the moment the fire disappeared.

"Darren!"

Harry ran to the exit and back into the previous chamber. The table was knocked over, all of the bottles broken and their contents across the floor. In the corner were Ron and Hermione, helping Darren up. Adam and Michael were standing beside them.

"DARREN!" Harry cried, running to them, "You're alive!"

Darren looked dazed.

"Oh, hey Harry. You all right?"

"All right? No I'm not all right! Quirrell told me he killed you!"

"And you believed him? Eago wouldn't have let him harm his own grandson!"

Harry could not help but smile.

"You had me worried, mate."

Suddenly feeling angry, he punched Darren in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"What were you thinking? You almost got killed!"

"Well sorry for saving your life. Anyway you're one to talk! By the way Harry, you're face looks wet."

Feeling himself blushing, Harry quickly turned away and wiped his face with his sleeve.

"I'm all right, by the way," Ron's voice interjected, slightly hurt.

"Ron! You're okay!"

Harry felt slightly ashamed that he had ignored Ron up until now, having been worried about him since McGonagall's protection. Ron smiled slightly.

"Yeah. It will take more than that to kill a wizard!"

"You had me worried as well, mate."

"We're okay too if anyone's interested," Adam said.

Harry just ignored him.

"Harry," Hermione now spoke, "Did you see that thing-? That man faced bird? What was it?"

"It was Eago," Dumbledore answered, walking into the chamber.

"What?" Ron cried, "Eago?"

"Yes."

"Was it like his ghost?" Harry asked.

"No. Not a ghost. It was definitely still living. It seems that he has procured himself a way to survive normal mortal attacks."

"Then- what does that mean?"

"Put it aside for now. A more immediate situation needs to be dealt with. Follow me, children."

The six-some did so. As they walked, Dumbledore slipped something in Harry's pocket. He recognised it as the marauders map as he felt it. Dumbledore winked at him.

"Professor, we're not in trouble, are we?" Hermione asked, "I mean we tried to tell Professor McGonagall that someone was after the stone but she wouldn't believe us! So we thought that someone had to do something-"

Dumbledore raised his hand.

"All will be sorted once we reach my office."

The same horrid thought now occurred to Harry. Surely they weren't in trouble for what they had done, were they? They did just stop an evil dark wizard from returning after all!

"What about Quirrell?"

"Someone will take care of him in due course."

After they got out through the trapdoor (Dumbledore was able to levitate them all, and for some reason Fluffy was tame when Dumbledore was around, who just patted the middle head's nose) and exited the chamber, Dumbledore turned his attention to Adam and Michael.

"You two will return to your dormitories. I'm sure you're exhausted over what you've just experienced!"

"Wait a minute!" Adam exclaimed, "Why not the others?"

"What I have to say to them concerns only them."

This made Harry's stomach looser. If he was sending the two Eago brothers to bed, it means that they can't be in trouble since it would include all of them. After Adam and Michael grudgingly left them, Dumbledore shot several jets of light in different directions.

"Just to alert the staff," He explained.

When they had reached Dumbledore's office, the wizard sat behind his desk and put his fingers together.

"Now then, tell me everything, right from the beginning."

And they did.

After finishing their tale, there was a knock on the door.

"Ah, it seems that everyone has arrived. Enter!"

Professors McGonagall, Loki, Sprout and Flitwick, along with Hagrid, all in their nightgowns, walked into Dumbledore's office.

"Professor, you're back!" McGonagall exclaimed, "What happened-?"

She caught sight of the four students. Her face slowly turned in her direction. She looked more terrifying than the bird bodied Eago.

"YOU FOUR! You didn't- you wouldn't- AFTER ALL MY THREATS, you just- does Gryffindor mean nothing to you at all-?"

McGonagall stopped talking after Dumbledore raised his hand.

"Professor, please don't get angry with them. They just stopped Cain Eago from returning to power."

"Wh-What did you just say?"

"Exactly as I said it."

"I-is this some kind of joke?" Loki demanded.

"I'm afraid it isn't." Dumbledore replied sombrely, "He tried to take the Philosopher's Stone with the aid of Quirrell."

"Qui-QUIRRELL?"

"Yes. Don't worry it's all thanks to Harry and his friends here."

Dumbledore told them everything that the four students had told him.

"But why didn't you tell some teacher?" McGonagall demanded after Dumbledore had finished.

"We tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!" Ron said angrily.

"Ron!" Hermione chided.

McGonagall looked shock, as if she had been slapped.

"Oh my God!" She uttered. She then turned towards Dumbledore.

"Professor, it's all my fault! They did try to tell me, but I wouldn't listen! I didn't take their fears seriously! I wouldn't hear them out! I didn't think anyone could get through and I was still angry about the dragon incident-"

"Relax, Minerva. I do not blame you. You merely acted as best as you thought. Do not worry, they all came out unharmed. Although I cannot say the same for Quirrell."

"But how did they even get pass the first protection?" Flitwick asked, "I thought that only you and Hagrid knew how to get passed the dog-?"

At that moment, it was Hagrid's turn to feel guilty.

"It's all my fault!" He roared as he buried his face in his hands. "I told him! I told him how teh ge' pass Fluffy!"

"What?"

"I didn't realise it was him! It's all my fault! All for a dragon e-!"

At that moment Hagrid stopped himself.

"Dragon? What dra-?" McGonagall questioned before realising something. She looked at the First Years.

"YOU MEAN THERE REALLY WAS A DRAGON?"

"Don't ge' angry with them, Professor!" Hagrid pleaded, "It's all my fault! I go' the egg from wha' I though' was a trader in the village! Then when I was having problems, these four were kind enough to help me send him to the colony in Romania!"

"Hagrid, what were you thinking?" McGonagall hissed, "haven't your previous experiences with dangerous monsters taught you anything? And to get these four students involved as well! Why didn't you four come to the Headmaster about it, you should have done that instead of sneaking into the Astronomy Tower late at night and costing your house two hundred points!"

"We didn't want Hagrid to get into trouble," Harry told her.

"That was highly admirable of you Harry," Dumbledore spoke, "But your fears were unfounded. Hagrid would have not got into any trouble, although I would have arranged for the dragon to be sent to Romania."

"Nonetheless," Loki now spoke, "Seeing what Hagrid's actions have done- acquiring an illegal animal, revealing secrets of the protections for the Philosopher's Stone, involving four students in rule-breaking activity, surely acts of this nature deserve the proper punishment, hmm?"

"You're right, Luke. However, it seems that Hagrid is already undergoing the consequence of his actions. His guilt is more effective than any punishment I can fish out."

Loki spluttered.

"Headmaster, I must protest! Tougher action must be taken! Your leniency towards your staff is probably why this happened in the first place! If you were a lot tougher with Hagrid in the past this might not have happened!"

"If harsh punishments were to stop Hagrid from getting his hands on dangerous creatures, it would have worked years ago," Dumbledore told him, "Besides, if you really wish me to become the strict Headmaster you want me to be I can always start by evaluating your er questionable teaching methods."

Loki looked more furious than ever.

"MY QUESTIONABLE-?"

A stare from Dumbledore silenced him.

"Anyway, little permanent damage has been done. Eago has been thwarted, the stone is safe. However, Hagrid, I need you to clean up the mess in the West Wing. That can be your punishment if you like."

Hagrid sombrely nodded, looking as if he deserved more of a punishment that Loki was thinking of. So Dumbledore dismissed his staff.

"Harry, if you'd be so kind as to give me the stone?"

Harry took it out of his pocket.

"How did it get there?" Harry asked him, "One minute I was looking at the mirror, then the next it was here!"

"Ah, one of my most ingenious spells," Dumbledore chuckled, "Only someone who wanted the stone, but not to use it, would have been able to get it out."

Harry gave it to the headmaster. He put it in his draw.

"Will you be giving it back to Nicholas Flammel then?" Harry asked.

"That's the idea. I shall be sending him an owl telling him that the stone has been saved and is ready to be returned to him. The four of you should be glad. You helped stop a dangerous wizard from returning to power!"

Dumbledore's words stirred something uneasy in Harry, something that had been there since hearing from Firenze about Eago, what was possibly there ever since he learnt that Eago was a Gryffindor. Dumbledore frowned.

"You seem troubled, Harry. You should be proud of yourself!"

"Professor, there's something I want to ask you."

"Certainly!"

"All my life, or since I was first told about Eago, I always thought that he was this pure evil dark wizard who cared about nothing except power. But then I learnt things about him, things which made me question whether he was such an evil guy at all."

"Harry!" Ron chided.

Dumbledore just nodded. Harry thought back to the year before, when he was getting his school things for the first time, how his parents had told him and his siblings that Eago sought to kill all the prejudiced humans in the world, and how Dan asked if this actually made him good.

"Why? If all Eago wanted was to make the wizarding world a better place, then why did you and my parents sought to stop him?"

"Harry!" Ron and Darren both shouted, but Harry just ignored them. Dumbledore's expression remained the same, and he just nodded.

"You ask valid questions, Harry. And you deserve valid answers. Tell me, do you believe in the traditional wizarding hierarchy, where those with wizarding ancestors deserve more rights than those without?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Do you believe that squibs deserve to be treated as if they don't have feelings?"

"No!" Harry said indignantly. Why was Dumbledore asking him these things? Of course he wouldn't!

"Do you believe that werewolves deserve to be shunned without treatment like your Uncle Remus?"

"No!"

"Do you believe that the Daily Prophet is allowed to publish any sought of rubbish about people as fact?"

"No."

"Do you believe it's fair that Goblins and House-Elves aren't allowed wands whereas humans are?"

Harry thought about this.

"No. It doesn't sound fair at all."

Ron laughed.

"Oh come on! It's not like the Goblins allow us any of their magic-!"

He was silenced when Dumbledore raised his hand. He turned his attention back to Harry.

"Do you believe that the Giants or the Centaurs deserved to have their lands taken away, only left with very little?"

Harry thought about this as well.

"No. They don't."

"Oh come on-!" Ron protested again, but Dumbledore interrupted him.

"Very good, Harry! Now answer me this: Are you willing to murder and destroy just to undo all of those injustices that I have listed?"

Nothing that Dumbledore had said previously shocked Harry more than what he just asked him.

"What? No, of course I wouldn't-!"

"Of course you wouldn't, exactly!" Dumbledore said triumphantly, "And that is what makes you different from Eago! Myself, your parents and others opposed him not because of his goals, which were noble in themselves and of course we would have all benefited from, but because of his methods."

"But you stopped him from killing Slytherins-!"

"We were stopping him from murdering people. From destroying lives. Are you saying that you would just stand by and watch someone die, just because of their house?"

Harry thought about this. He now understood what Dumbledore was trying to tell him.

"No. I'd try to stop whoever it was that was trying to kill him."

"Oh I don't know," Ron snorted, "I might let-"

"Excellent, Harry excellent!" Dumbledore clapped, "You would make your parents proud, talking as you are! This is what makes you better than Eago, what makes you nobler than him, that you would preserve life regardless of who it was, rather than make any kind of discrimination over who you would save. Besides as you have already probably learnt not all Slytherins become dark wizards, and not all dark wizards were Slytherins. When we discriminate against groups, we end up ensnaring the innocent and ignoring the guilty. Are you truly willing to sacrifice a few innocents and let a few guilty run wild just to make the world a better place?"

Harry shook his head. Dumbledore smiled wider than ever.

"Of course you wouldn't!

"It is true that our world is full of injustice, and that Eago would have probably ended it, but it would have been far too costly. I would not want to live in such a world built upon the bones of many and the suffering of thousands. Neither were your parents. There are other ways to undo the injustice in our world. True they take longer, but they are less costly."

"So, you do believe that all the wrongs things in the wizarding world can be undone?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I do. And remember this, Harry, be wary of those who talk about justice and equality and righteousness and good, and whose way seems right, but whose primary motive is not justice, equality, righteousness or good at all."

This Harry did not understand.

"And now, I think it's time that you all go to bed. It has been a busy night for you after all!"

So they left, Harry feeling happier than he had felt before.

"You know what?" Harry said as they walked back to their dormitories, "I think Dumbledore expected us to try and stop Eago. I think he deliberately left that mirror out for us so we would know what to face."

"But that's-that would be so irresponsible!" Hermione cried.

"I think Harry's right," Darren said.

"What a surprise," Ron said.

"But look at the protections! Why would the staff deliberately leave out brooms for the thief in order to get the key? If they didn't want the thief to claim the key, then surely the most sensible thing to do was to not give him a way to claim it? And it's hardly like no one can win in Chess! As for the potions, why leave a clue to which was the right potion rather than let the thief guess it? Look at the protections! Fending off a plant that only a First Year student would know how to; to collect a key that only a top Seeker could claim; a game of Chess that only a Chess champion could possibly get through; a creature that we all faced beforehand; and a riddle that only someone with logic could pass, something that few wizards have! It's almost like they were meant for us to get through if a powerful wizard had entered the chambers! These weren't just protections: They were trials."

There was silence.

"I think Darren's right," Hermione said.

"Yeah, well, whatever," Ron said.

Eventually they entered the Common Room.

"Oh Neville!" Hermione gasped, looking at the stiff body on the floor, "I forgot all about you!"

She took out her wand, waved it and uttered the counter-curse. At once Neville was no longer frozen. Gasping for breath, he got up to face the foursome.

"What happened? Did you guys get caught?"

"Yeah. You could say that," Harry answered.

Neville looked angry.

"I can't believe you guys did that again! We've probably lost all points thanks to you."

Harry, Darren, Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Unable to control themselves, they broke into fits of laughter.

"Hey it's not funny! Why are you guys laughing?" Neville shouted

The foursome continued to laugh.

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY?"

"Neville, we'll tell you everything in the morning," Ron said as the three boys led Neville up the staircase to their dormitory, patting his back.

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**The ending of this chapter, from the scene in Dumbledore's office, is what I imagine happened in the original Philosopher's Stone, although the tone not as light, given that Harry had been comatosed. I also imagine that instead of the four bursting in laughter over what Neville said, Hermione would have burst into tears and hugged Ron, who would have told Neville to shut up. Well the final chapter is on its way! (At least I think it will be the last chapter. It may also not be as long as most of the chapters)**


	11. Epilogue

**Okay, I've finally been able to post the final chapter, although it's a little short compared to others. Apologies for making anyone wait.**

**P.S. I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.**

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The next day started as usual. No one paid any attention to Harry, Darren, Neville or Hermione. At breakfast Harry and the others told Neville what they were doing last night, but he didn't believe them, thinking it was another story like the dragon.

Later that morning it was like an explosion.

Harry didn't know how it happened, but knowledge about last night leaked out, and suddenly it seemed like the whole school wanted a first hand account about what happened. Everyone seemed to forget about how Harry and others lost Gryffindor two hundred points. Even Neville got a share of the attention for being a part of last night's events. The truth about Norbert also somehow leaked out, and people were curious to learn from Harry and others what it was like trying to raise a real life dragon and then smuggling it out of the castle, though this wasn't as big as the fact that they had faced Quirrell and Eago to stop them from getting their hands on the Philosopher's Stone. It was nice to no longer be hated by everyone. No one looked happier than Darren.

Later that day Neville approached the group.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you that you faced Eago," He apologised, "I thought it was another lie like the dragon-"

"That wasn't a lie, Neville!" Harry told him, "There really was a dragon! Professor McGonagall just assumed it was made up-"

"I know that now," Neville nodded. He was looking very sombre.

"I almost stopped you from stopping Eago from returning to power."

"Don't worry about it, Neville!" Ron said, "We were still able to stop him!"

This didn't make Neville look any happier.

"I was only trying to help Gryffindor, but it turns out that I almost let an evil dark wizard come back."

"Honestly Neville, don't worry about it!" Darren told him.

"It seems like all I do is mess up. I'll never be a use to anyone."

"Don't say that Neville-" Hermione began, as Professor McGonagall walked up to them.

"Potter, Eago, Weasley, Miss Granger, may I speak to you four for a moment?"

The foursome looked at her. They all hesitantly nodded.

"Follow me."

And so they left Neville in the corridor. What was it that McGonagall wanted, Harry thought? They were led in her office. McGonagall sat down, facing them.

"I just wanted to say," She started, "How sorry I am, that I didn't believe you, when you told me someone was going to steal the stone."

"It's okay, Professor," Harry told her.

"Okay? No it's not okay! I am a teacher of Hogwarts! I was supposed to defend the stone from any attack, and your four almost lost your lives and a dark wizard returned to power because of my stubbornness!"

McGonagall was in tears. She took out a tartan hankerchief and started dabbing her eyes. This was such a surreal sight, Harry thought, to see McGonagall in such a vulnerable state. It would be like Loki giving out sweets in class.

"Professor, it's all right now," Hermione tried to reassure her, "We're all all right and Eago didn't get the stone."

"Yes, still," McGonagall sniffed, "I should have taken any threat seriously. I promise you four, next time you need to tell me something, I will listen. From now on you can tell me anything."

She lay back in her chair.

"I'm also sorry that I accused you for lying about the dragon and trying to get the Eago brothers into trouble. I knew it was unlike you. I should have known you better."

"So," Ron lightened up, "Does this mean we can get the two hundred points back?"

"No," McGonagall simply said.

"What? But-but you know now there really was a dragon and why they were up late-"

"You were still caught breaking rules, being up at late hours and being in a restricted section of the castle. Noble as your intentions were, nevertheless, I do not tolerate rule breaking of any kind for any reason. You should have come straight to the headmaster instead of trying to sneak out a dragon by yourselves. You should be lucky, Weasley, that I'm not taking away another fifty points from you for being involved."

Ron gulped. That seemed to be the end of the discussion.

"Now then," McGonagall continued, "If I was you I should enjoy the remaining sunshine."

And that was it. As they turned away, Harry thought he glimpsed McGonagall smiling. If he hadn't seen her break down in tears earlier, he would have thought that he'd imagine it. He wasn't sure why McGonagall was smiling so.

* * *

At the closing feast, he would find out why. Not only did Dumbledore restore the points that Harry, Darren, Hermione and Neville lost by rewarding the first three and Ron for their actions during the night they stopped Eago and Quirrell from getting the stone, but they also got twenty points extra from what Harry and Darren got (Harry was rewarded sixty points for "pure nerve and outstanding courage," whereas Darren also got sixty for "true selflessness and sacrifice". Ron would later joke that Darren got sixty just for being stuck in a room, though Darren also pointed out that he did take on Quirrell as well and got struck by a lightning bolt). Neville also got ten points for having the courage to stand up against his friends. This, along with the points Gryffindor won in the recent match against Ravenclaw, gave Gryffindor a clear lead in points, as well as the House Cup for the first time in seven years.

* * *

The next day, it was time to go home. After the adventure he had at school, Harry was looking forward to return home to his family. Ron and Hermione were also looking forward. The only one who wasn't was Darren, who was unable to stay over the summer.

"It's strange going back home, isn't it?" Hermione expressed.

"I don't feel like going home," Darren said, "Hogwarts has been the best home I've ever known."

There was an awkward silence among the group.

"What, even with all the bullying?" Ron asked.

Darren grinned.

"Especially with all the bullying!" He joked.

"Look, Darren," Harry began, "We'll stay in touch, okay? Maybe you can convince your parents to let you stay over my house, maybe?"

Darren laughed.

"Fat chance that will happen!" He said.

Their game of exploding snap on the train journey home seemed to lighten Darren's mood, though as they got closer to their destination, Harry thought he could sense his friend's growing dread.

When they reached the station, they changed out of their uniforms, gathered their belongings and left the train. Harry could not wait to reunite with his family. After passing the barrier, Darren joined his brothers to look for their parents. Before leaving, Darren smiled at Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"See you in three months time guys."

"Or maybe sooner!" Harry grinned.

Darren smiled, and left with his brothers to join his parents. Eventually Ron and Hermione also left to look for their families, leaving Harry on his own. He searched through the crowd to spot his family. Then he saw them.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Gerry was shouting, tugging at Harry's mum's trouser leg, pointing, "There's Harry!"

Harry smiled. He was home. He tried to run to them, despite his entire luggage that he was carrying. He felt like he was in a dream.

"Harry!" Dan and Gerry cried at the same time, running to him and hugged him.

"Hey guys!" Harry greeted, "Missed me?"

Harry certainly had. He loved his little brother and sister, although he'd never admit it. He looked up at his parents.

"All right Harry?" His dad grinned, "Ready to go?"

Harry nodded.

"Right then," His mum said, "Off we go."

Harry walked with his family back to the car. He felt happy and complete among them. He could not imagine his life without any of them.

"So Harry," his dad grinned, "What's this we hear about you stopping Eago taking the Philosopher's Stone?"

* * *

**The end. Finally. Not that I haven't enjoyed writing this fic. Thank you all for your reviews, story alerts and checking this out. It made it worthwhile to write.**

**This AU shall continue in 'Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor'. Look for it in a month's time.**


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